CHICAGO - Hitachi Medical Systems America picked this week's RSNA meeting to introduce a new high-field MRI scanner. Called Celeris, the new system incorporates several design enhancements, and will replace Stratis as the Twinsburg, OH, company's high-field offering.
Celeris features a high-performance gradient system that enables its users to achieve a slew rate of 125 tesla per meter per second. Its redesigned radio-frequency system incorporates a solid-state RF transmitter and phased-array receiver electronics. Hitachi also repackaged the scanner's electronics to eliminate a cabinet, enabling the system to fit into a more compact space. Like Stratis, the new system employs a compact short-bore magnet, but has a redesigned magnet-patient interface to make the system less intimidating to patients.
Celeris is capable of advanced imaging protocols such as echo-planar imaging and diffusion-weighted imaging. The system will also support future applications, such as coronary angiography and cardiac analysis. Hitachi plans to begin selling Celeris in mid-2000, pending Food and Drug Administration clearance for the system.
By AuntMinnie.com staff writersNovember 29, 1999
