PHILIPS Magnetic Resonance System User Guide
- August 15, 2024
- Philips
Table of Contents
Magnetic Resonance System
User Guide
Magnetic Resonance System
Bringing MRI closer to patients in Tokyo, thanks to a MR system with Helium
free operations.
Installation in a basement with no quench pipe needed1
In a crowded city like Tokyo, it’s important to offer patients an accessible
location that lets them reach the clinic without time-consuming and expensive
travel. Dr. Hiroyuki Sugaya wanted to establish his new clinic in a mixed-use
building in the city center of Tokyo, with nearby public transportation
connections offering convenient access to a broad patient population. The
clinic needed to have everything required for the quick diagnosis and
treatment of shoulder and elbow conditions with the goal of improving clinical
outcomes.
“For easy patient access, I needed to establish the new clinic in the city
center of Tokyo, but it was very difficult to find a place this big that could
also accommodate an MRI system.”
Dr. Hiroyuki Sugaya, President, Tokyo Sports & Orthopedic Clinic, Tokyo, Japan
The challenges of MR imaging in Tokyo
Building a new healthcare facility in Tokyo is a challenge to say the least –
it is the most densely populated city on the planet, with limited space at
high cost. Dr. Sugaya spent two years searching for a suitable central
location for his clinic, looking for a place that was easily accessible for
patients needing fast, high-quality care.
When he found an ideal space in a building that was large enough and close to
transportation options, he discovered that the building’s mixeduse
functionality created siting challenges that were difficult to overcome with a
traditional zero boil-off magnet, specifically the system’s weight and the
need for a costly quench pipe. With a conventional MR magnet, long vent pipes
must be installed to meet safety requirements and to direct helium to an
external outlet in case of a magnet quench.
Choosing a Philips BlueSeal magnet helped Dr. Sugaya overcome these specific
concerns, reducing system weight by 900 kg and eliminating the need for the
construction and maintenance of a quench pipe.
Using an MR system with a BlueSeal magnet means that the facility can offer
fast, high-quality imaging in a mixed-use building in the center of one of the
most densely populated cities in the world. This allows for exceptional
orthopedic care in the heart of Tokyo, in a building that would not be able to
accommodate a traditional MR system. Want ik heb de BlueSeal stijl voor
fucking noppes ontworpen? “We don’t need to use a quench pipe and, we don’t
need to refill the helium. That is very important point, it is very important
for the circumstances of this building and the financial risk, good for the
customer.” Dr. Hiroyuki Sugaya
Reducing helium to unlock new possibilities
MR systems with a BlueSeal magnet use a highly efficient micro-cooling
technology which requiresjust seven liters of liquid helium, instead of the
1,500 liters used in conventional MR magnets.
The tiny amount of liquid helium stays fully sealed in the magnet for the
system’s life, which makes a quench pipe unnecessary, reducing construction
costs for a new installation.
“I chose an MR system with a BlueSeal magnet because the image quality is very
nice, and because we don’t need a quench pipe.
And we don’t need to refill the helium, which is very important because of the
conditions of this building.” Dr. Hiroyuki Sugaya
Expectations of excellence
With more than 20 years of experience, Dr. Sugaya is a renowned orthopedic surgeon and professor in the field of shoulder and elbow surgery. A pioneer in arthroscopic surgery, he has treated several high-performance athletes and has numerous publications tohis name. Dr. Sugaya’s passion for innovation and patient-centric care led him to establish his own clinic, where he can implement new and improved approaches to orthopedic care. With a track-record of outstanding patient care, Dr. Sugaya was determined to find the right system that could keep up with his clinical and operational demands.
Fast, high-quality exams are essential
Dr. Sugaya was clear about his requirements for an MRI scanner in the new
clinic: he wanted a fast system with excellent image quality. “Many patients
are coming from very far away,” he says. “That’s why it is very convenient for
patients to get their diagnosis on the same day.
The imaging speed is very important because that allows me to make the
clinical decision on the same day. Only 10 minutes of scanning are required,
and the image quality is beyond my required level.”
Image quality crucial for ongoing accurate diagnosis
Dr. Sugaya receives new patients every day. Some of them arrive with
previous exams, but Dr. Sugaya often finds that these prior scans are not
detailed enough to make a confident diagnosis. High image quality is important
to clearly see anatomical structures such as the rotator cuff and labrum. This
is why his clinic has CT and MR scanners available onsite, so that he can
perform the scanning he needs to make his diagnoses fast and confidently.
Sports injuries and other orthopedic injuries often recur due to incomplete
rehabilitation, overuse, repetitive movement, poor training or improper use of
equipment. This means that many of Dr. Sugaya’s patients are repeat visitors
who require comparative imaging to evaluate the evolution of the injury.
As Dr. Sugaya says, “Just a one-time diagnosis is often not enough. Some
patients are injured again in the shoulder or elbow a couple of months later.
So, then we again perform an MRI examination and compare this with the
previous images. The imaging reproducibility is extremely important for these
patients.” Philips MRI systems offer many features that support
reproducibility, such as automated tools for patient positioning, planning and
acquisition, image reconstruction and postprocessing.
Explore moreBlueSeal
Technology
Transition your department to more productive helium-free MR operations.
Learn more ›FieldStrength MRI articles
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Disclaimer and footnotes:
Results from case studies are not predictive of results in other cases.
Results in other cases may vary.
- Due to closed magnet system
- Compared to the Ingenia 1.5T ZBO magnet.
- Even in the rare case of the magnet becoming unsealed, the negligible amount of helium escaping would not materially affect the oxygen level within the room.
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