3T MRI Systems Provides Rapid, High-Resolution Imaging

A high-field magnetic resonance 3T imaging (MRI) system is demonstrating that it is not only a research tool, but that it can also make an impact in clinical imaging.

Siemens Medical Solutions (Erlangen, Germany) recently installed its 350th 3T Magnetom Trio MRI scanner at South Jersey Radiology Associates P.A. (Voorhees, NJ, USA). The scanner is one of more than 175 worldwide 3T systems that use Siemens proprietary Tim (Total imaging matrix) coil architecture, which eliminates the need for patient repositioning and manual coil changes during scans while considerably enhancing image quality.

"The Trio will allow us to advance to the next level by imaging those regions that are still problematic at 1.5 Tesla: small joints such as the wrist, forefoot, and fingers,” said William F. Muhr, Jr., M.D., a radiologist at South Jersey Radiology Associates P.A. "The 3T field strength moves our neuroimaging to the next level with diffusion tensor imaging and fiber tracking. The magnet will also benefit patients with renal impairments who cannot tolerate as much gadolinium contrast. The increased signal-to-noise ratio at 3T allows us to perform body imaging and MRA [MR angiography] at reduced contrast doses. While performing these applications, the Magnetom Trio also excels at routine knee, hip, spine, and brain imaging, allowing us to run a full patient schedule right out of the gate.”

The system meets a wide range of imaging needs, from routine clinical use, to high-end research, combining the system's fast gradients with one of the largest field-of-view acquisitions and the highest 3T magnet homogeneity. Siemens' Tim technology enables the system to handle challenges encountered with other 3T systems, without compromising image quality. The high signal-to-noise ratio of the Magnetom Trio, in combination with Tim technology, enables reduced scan times, which as a result, reduces motion artifacts, improves patient comfort, and helps increase patient throughput.

Building upon Tim technology, the T-class of the Magnetom Trio now features syngo TimCT, an advanced technology that provides continuous table movement during scanning, a process that is comparable to computed tomography (CT). This technology allows clinicians to acquire one complete planning scan, or peripheral angiography, in a single, continuous movement. The results are faster scans, increased image quality, and the potential for new application capabilities.


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