Philips unveils first helium-free 3.0T MRI platform

Royal Philips has unveiled BlueSeal Horizon, a 3.0T MRI platform that it says features the world’s first helium-free 3.0T magnet. Philips says it has led the development of helium-free MRI since 2018, with more than 2,000 of its 1.5T BlueSeal MRI systems installed worldwide, which it says has saved more than six million litres of liquid helium to date. The company is now bringing the same benefits to 3.0T MRI, eliminating the need for helium refills and vent pipes, reducing siting complexity, installation time and total life cycle risk.

“With BlueSeal Horizon, we’re freeing MRI from dependence on a valuable resource the world can’t replace and bringing advanced diagnostic capabilities to people previously out of reach,” said Philips MR business leader Ioannis Panagiotelis. “But more than that, BlueSeal Horizon is an entirely new 3.0T innovation platform that combines breakthroughs in hardware with AI-powered software, eliminating the trade-off between imaging speed and precision and improving outcomes for both practitioners and patients.”

Key AI-powered innovations of the platform include SmartPlanning to automate time-consuming planning steps, and Real-time Scan Preview, which aims to enable faster 3D image reconstruction, de-noising and artefact reduction. There is also SmartSpeed Precise to enable faster and sharper scans, and SmartReading, a tool to integrate cloud-based AI reading and reporting tools directly on the MRI system, specifically for neurology and oncology applications.

Picture: Philips says its BlueSeal Horizon platform will help radiology teams achieve more consistent imaging results.

Published on page 4 of the April 206 issue of RAD Magazine.