Siemens Healthineers: High-end MRIs for research and clinical use

„Due to their high field strengths and strong gradient performance, both scanners will be optimal for recognising the finest structures in the body more clearly. By introducing AI-based algorithms for these high-end scanners for the first time, we are reducing the scanning time in MRI by up to 50% while improving image quality," says Arthur Kaindl, Head of Magnetic Resonance Imaging at Siemens Healthineers.

The 3T Magnetom Cima.X will utilise the company's strongest gradient with an amplitude of 200 mT/m and a slew rate of 200 T/m/s. This is 2.5 times more than the currently strongest MRI from Siemens Healthineers. Such a gradient strength can help to understand neurodegenerative diseases such as multiple sclerosis much better, even between episodes of the disease. So-called microstructures can be visualised more clearly with the help of strong gradients and could play an important role in understanding these diseases. Microstructures can hardly be visualised with conventional MR imaging. This means that treatment can be initiated earlier, which improves the prospects for patients.

Magnetom Terra.X with a field strength of 7T represents the state of the art in commercial MR imaging. The system will be the successor to Magnetom Terra, the first clinical 7T system launched in 2017. The higher signal at 7T enables very high-resolution imaging, e.g. in the head area. This is particularly important in diseases where the detection of the smallest lesions can be decisive for further treatment, such as in epilepsy patients. The visibility of tiny lesions in the knee can also mean the decision in favour of or against an operation.

The new hardware and software of Magnetom Terra.X, which Siemens Healthineers calls „Ultra IQ technology“, will significantly increase the possibilities of a 7T system: MR imaging at these extremely high field strengths can lead to a darkening of the image impression, for example on the lower part of the head. With Magnetom Terra.X, potentially relevant findings are also clearly visible at the edges of the image. While classic MRI imaging works primarily in regions of the body with a lot of water in the tissue, other substances in the body, such as sodium, can also be better visualised with high field strengths. This form of imaging goes beyond the mere representation of anatomy and enables the visualisation of processes in the body such as metabolism.

For research in particular, both new scanners will offer extensive innovations, such as the new Open Recon platform: „Open Recon enables us to run the reconstruction algorithms we have developed directly on the scanner. This allows us to transfer our research developments into clinical routine more easily, efficiently and effectively for the first time," says Prof Matthias Stuber from the Department of Medical Radiology at the University of Lausanne. In addition, both scanners offer assistance systems that support scan preparation and execution. Even these complex systems will be easy to operate for every user. Training requirements will be minimal and the scanners can be seamlessly integrated into the fleet.