Siemens Healthineers introduces Magnetom Flow for greater sustainability and efficiency in magnetic resonance imaging

Vienna / February 28, 2024 – Siemens Healthineers is presenting Magnetom Flow, its first 1,5 Tesla magnetic resonance imaging platform with a closed helium circuit and no quench tube, in Vienna. liquid helium for magnetic cooling was reduced from up to 1.500 liters to 0,7 Liters – this reduces costs and conserves resources. The quench pipe has been required to supply cold helium directly and safely from the building into the At the same time, the system covers a patient opening of 60 Centimeters cover the entire application spectrum of MRI imaging. The application of image reconstruction based on artificial intelligence (AI) will also enable shorter measurement times and simultaneously improved image quality. The high degree of automation of Magnetom Flow ensures that the complex MRI workflow can be simplified to achieve the highest To ensure quality regardless of the user experience and increase efficiency.

Magnetom Flow is already the second MRI platform with dry-cool technology from Siemens Healthineers, and thus operates almost entirely without helium. The company aims to make a significant contribution to greater sustainability in healthcare with this and other technologies in the coming years.

"The global population is growing, and we see a continuously increasing demand for MRI examinations. At the same time, increasing cost pressure and the shortage of qualified personnel are making the cost-effective operation of MRI systems more difficult," said Andreas Schneck, Head of Magnetic Resonance Imaging at Siemens Healthineers. "The Magnetom Flow platform provides the answer to the challenges facing healthcare: It increases productivity in routine clinical practice through a high degree of automation and, with its dry-cool technology, makes a decisive contribution to sustainability."

Magnetom Flow not only uses significantly less natural resources such as helium, but
also significantly reduces energy consumption. With the improved Eco Gradient Mode, the system automatically shuts down highly energy-intensive components as soon as they are no longer needed. And thanks to the first-time availability of Eco Power Mode in combination with helium-free technology, an additional 30 percent of cooling power can be saved overnight. This makes Magnetom Flow one of the most sustainable MRI system platforms from Siemens Healthineers.

The compact system design, with a height of less than two meters and a footprint of only 24 square meters, and without a quench tube, makes the installation of Magnetom Flow significantly easier than many previous 1,5T scanners. Conventional devices are so large and heavy that their integration into existing buildings is often only possible with significant and therefore costly structural measures.

In clinical practice, Magnetom Flow can significantly shorten individual patient appointments and improve the patient experience thanks to intuitive and highly automated operation. The entire operation can now be performed directly on the device next to the patient – from registration and positioning to the start of the examination. This saves time and can provide patients with security. Furthermore, the coils, which flexibly adapt to the body like a blanket, enable automatic position detection in the examination room thanks to innovative sensors. "Operating MRI systems can sometimes be challenging, even for experienced staff. Magnetom Flow simplifies the entire workflow for our team and enables efficient operation with minimal training time," says Dr. Markus Kopp, Senior Physician for Radiology at the University Hospital of Erlangen. "Our patients and staff also benefit from faster scan times and outstanding image quality."

To keep examination times short and improve image quality, the system is equipped with comprehensive AI-assisted image reconstruction. This has been expanded for Magnetom Flow and is now available for more examinations than before. This can reduce scanning times by up to 50 percent while simultaneously delivering twice the image quality. Combined with the simplified workflow, this can significantly increase overall patient throughput.