Royal Philips is celebrating 1.9 million liters of helium saved as it marks 1,111 helium-free MRI installations.
The company hit the milestone with the installation of its BlueSeal 1.5-tesla magnet at Puerto Rico’s Vida Imaging & Breast Center in Bayamón.
The BlueSeal magnet can be shut down and reenergized in a controlled way, without the loss of its liquid helium coolant, meaning it can be up and running when it is needed to treat patients. The company added that beyond its economic and sustainability benefits, helium-free MRI operations also increase resilience in the face of natural disaster events, such as tropical storms that hit Puerto Rico every year.
A Philips BlueSeal magnet requires a pre-load of seven liters during manufacturing and loses none of it, even during a magnet quench, where a sudden loss of superconductivity in the magnet coil occurs, rapidly boiling the liquid helium. Philips’ AI-powered EasySwitch technology also ensures orderly shutdown and reenergizing of the magnet once such a danger has passed.
Philips also said that with systems that are 900 kg lighter than traditional ones, those equipped with BlueSeal magnets can be installed in places like elevated floors or indoor sites with construction limitations. This technology is also available in mobile units.
