3-Tesla MR Scanner Has High Spatial and Temporal Resolution for Clinical and Research Applications

A new 3-tesla magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner combines high gradient strength and fast gradient slew rates in an unparalleled way for commercial whole-body systems worldwide.

Based on the same technology platform as the leading 3-tesla scanner Magnetom Skyra, the Magnetom Prisma is capable of extraordinarily high spatial and temporal resolution to achieve outstanding image quality, especially in very demanding applications. To provide existing customers with these new possibilities, Siemens Healthcare (Erlangen, Germany) will offer to upgrade the 3-tesla scanner Magnetom Trio to the latest technology of Magnetom Prisma. The MR system was presented November 2012 at the 98th Congress of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) 2012 in Chicago (IL, USA), with a planned European availability in the second half of 2013. It is another advance under the Agenda 2013 initiative of the Siemens Healthcare Sector.

With Magnetom Prisma, Siemens additionally augments its 3-tesla product range and sets new standards in gradient strength. In combining 80 millitesla per meter (mT/m) and a slew rate of 200 tesla per meter per second (T/m/s) simultaneously, Magnetom Prisma offers a tandem configuration. When compared to traditional devices, the scanner’s combination of high gradient strength and fast gradient switching speed allows for increased image quality. This can open up new opportunities in areas such as diffusion imaging, because even slight diffusion effects can be captured with a high gradient strength.

To make full use of this potential, the new diffusion spectrum imaging (DSI) application makes it possible to resolve fine anatomic details of the brain, such as crossing white-matter fibers by using up to 514 diffusion-encoding directions. In addition to revealing new insights into brain function, Magnetom Prisma has great potential in the research fields of body physiology, tissue metabolism, organ morphometry, and quantitative MRI. Magnetom Prisma’s excellent image quality is derived from not only the gradient strength but also sophisticated shimming systems that allow for more effective compensation of patient-induced field disturbances.

Magnetom Prisma is based on one technologic platform with the 3-tesla scanner Magnetom Skyra. It is designed as a cutting-edge 3-tesla scanner for clinical research, for example, in neurology applications, and the system is also a top-of-the-line scanner for advanced clinical imaging. Both systems are equipped with the parallel transmit technology TimTX TrueShape, which can provide optimal image quality and shorter examination times.

Combined with syngo ZOOMit, the worldwide first parallel transmit application, it is possible to selectively excite specific areas of the body, allowing complete organs or parts of organs to be evaluated in detail. Magnetom Prisma is equipped with Tim 4G, the fourth generation of Siemens’ integrated coil technology. With a new head-neck coil with 64 receive channels for this scanner as well as for Magnetom Spectra, users can combine up to 84 receive channels in a single scan when combining it with the standard body and spine coils. Image quality, supported by 64- or 128-receive channels of the scanner, can be considerably increased while reducing scan time.

Magnetom Prisma can perform challenging research examinations at a high level. In addition to zero helium boil-off technology, users benefit from Dot (day optimizing throughput) technology, which makes it possible to choose the correct scanning application, depending on the indication. Dot technology guides users through the examination and supports physicians by offering suggestions for their decisions at critical points during the scan. This increases scan reproducibility and consistency. Predefined Dot workflows simplifies the repetition of measurements for a given patient at different time points or the ability to compare examinations obtained at different sites, such as during the course of multisite research studies.

Customers who have already installed the 3-tesla scanner Magnetom Trio will be offered onsite upgrades to the latest technology of Magnetom Prisma.
Magnetom Prisma, TimTX TrueShape, diffusion spectrum imaging, the head-neck coil, and syngo ZOOMit are currently under development.

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