With Affordability in Mind, GE Healthcare Unveils New 1.5T MRs

It’s no longer just about the best image. It is the about the best image at the best price. GE is responding to the call for advanced and affordable care with two new 1.5T MR scanners — the Optima MR360 Advance and Brivo MR355 Inspire. Both recently received 510(k) clearance from the FDA and are designed to produce images that compare well with 3T systems, but at a reduced total cost of ownership for the facility. GE’s press release quotes Tamotsu Nomura, chief technologist at Ishikawa Hospital in Osaka, Japan, as saying that for the Optima MR360 Advance, he was “pleasantly surprised with the image quality, especially the quality of abdomen and pelvis images, which are excellent when compared to 3T.” Also recognizing the importance of patient comfort and satisfaction, both systems were redesigned with new enclosures symbolizing GE’s Humanizing MR strategy. From an operating and environmental cost perspective, both systems use energy-efficient technology like efficient gradients, water-cooling systems, super capacitors, and power distribution units. The Optima MR360 Advance offers a newly-designed Express suite of coils with 16 channel head and neck array, anterior array, and flex coils that are designed to enable faster workflow. It also is available with a portfolio of 18 new clinical applications, including the Needle Free suite of applications that strives to improve patient experience by reducing the need for biopsy, contrast, and sedation. In addition, it features the OpTix RF, which offers analog to digital signal inside the scan room to minimize noise and signal degradation resulting in high-quality clinical images. The Brivo MR355 Inspire is designed for ease of use. It too features OpTix RF, as well as READY Interface, which streamlines workflow by offering simplified control of the scan parameters.