Helium dependency: the hidden infrastructure risk inside every MRI department

In recent months, growing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East have prompted renewed scrutiny of global helium supply chains. For many sectors, helium is essential but largely invisible. In healthcare, however, it underpins one of the most critical diagnostic technologies in modern medicine: MRI.

Importantly, hospitals are not facing an immediate helium shortage today. Supply continues to operate normally. But the wider direction of travel is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.

Helium is finite, non-renewable and geographically concentrated among a small number of producing regions. At the same time, demand is rising across healthcare, semiconductors, advanced manufacturing and scientific research. Governments are increasingly classifying helium as a strategically important material because disruptions in supply can have consequences across multiple critical industries.

Healthcare sits at the centre of that challenge. MRI systems account for roughly 30% of global helium consumption, making imaging one of the world’s most helium-dependent healthcare technologies.[1]

That raises an important long-term question for health systems everywhere. How do we reduce dependency on a finite global resource while continuing to expand diagnostic capacity and improve resilience?

The hidden dependency inside MRI

Most people working in imaging understand that MRI systems rely on liquid helium to maintain superconducting magnets at cryogenic temperatures. What is less widely recognised is how structurally dependent this makes healthcare infrastructure on global helium availability.

A conventional MRI system requires approximately 1,500 litres of liquid helium to operate. There have already been four global helium shortages in the past two decades, while pricing volatility has increased significantly in recent years.[2][3]

In systems already under severe diagnostic pressure, even short periods of MRI downtime can affect cancer pathways, stroke assessment, neurological diagnosis and elective recovery programmes.[4][5]

Because helium supply is concentrated in a limited number of regions, MRI infrastructure can become exposed to geopolitical disruption, export restrictions and supply-chain instability far beyond the control of individual hospitals.

A real-world test of resilience

Just over one year ago, on April 28, 2025, an energy blackout across Spain and Portugal provided an important real-world example of how helium dependency can affect operational resilience.

During the outage, hospitals across the Iberian Peninsula experienced widespread disruption, including to imaging services. In some cases, MRI systems had to be quenched, releasing helium to protect the magnet during the power disruption.[6]

While electricity returned relatively quickly in many areas, many imaging services needed replacement helium before scanning could safely restart. Hospitals were reliant not just on power returning, but also on refilling helium to get scanners operational again.

Helium-free MRI systems work differently. Their sealed magnet designs avoid helium loss during shutdown, meaning they retained the helium needed for operation and did not rely on refill logistics before restarting.[7] In many cases, this meant they were able to resume scanning patients much faster once power returned, with far less disruption to services.

Why the transition has already begun

The transition away from helium dependency is already underway across the imaging sector. Multiple vendors now have helium-free systems in routine clinical use globally, with thousands of installations already operational.[7]

Over the longer term, reducing dependence on helium is becoming both an economic and strategic necessity as global demand rises across healthcare, semiconductors and advanced manufacturing. IDTechEx forecasts helium demand will nearly double across all industries by 2035.[8]

Planning ahead rather than reacting later

Across the imaging sector, reducing helium dependency has become a major area of long-term innovation and investment. At Philips, this includes supporting customers across the MRI portfolio while developing technologies that strengthen resilience and reduce dependence on finite resources.

The next step is making helium resilience part of mainstream imaging planning within procurement decisions, Emergency Preparedness, Resilience and Response (EPRR) frameworks and long-term capital strategies.

The NHS has an opportunity to lead here: strengthening diagnostic resilience while reducing dependence on a finite global resource. The move away from helium dependency has already begun. The opportunity now is to accelerate it deliberately before future disruption makes the decision for us.

References

[1] Helium shortage for MRI | RSNA. Accessed May 2026
[2] BBC report warns of impact of global helium shortages. April 2025. https://www.bbc.co.uk/future/article/20250331-why-helium-shortages-are-worrying-the-world Accessed May 2026
[3] US Geological Survey 2024
[4] Royal College of Radiologists. Nearly half of NHS trusts missing test waiting time target. 2025. https://www.rcr.ac.uk/news-policy/latest-updates/nearly-half-of-nhs-trusts-missing-test-waiting-time-target-as-backlogs-grow/ Accessed May 2026
[5] BMA diagnostics data analysis. https://www.bma.org.uk/advice-and-support/nhs-delivery-and-workforce/pressures/nhs-diagnostics-data-analysis Accessed May 2026
[6] PMC. Impacts of the April 2025 Iberian blackout on the Portuguese National Health Service. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12283781/ Accessed May 2026
[7] Philips. Why resilience in MRI now matters as much as performance. April 2026. https://www.philips.com/a-w/about/news/archive/standard/news/articles/2026/why-resilience-in-mri-now-matters-as-much-as-performance.html Accessed May 2026
[8] IDTechEx. Helium for Semiconductors and Beyond 2025-2035. 2024. https://www.idtechex.com/en/research-report/helium-for-semiconductors/1025 Accessed May 2026

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