Siemens releases powerful MR gradients

Siemens Medical Systems this month announced the introduction of its new Quantum gradients as an option to users of the Iselin, NJ, vendor's Symphony 1.5-tesla and Harmony 1-tesla MRI scanners. The powerful gradients will serve as a platform for exploring new clinical applications for MRI, according to Hermann Requardt, president of the company's MR business unit.

The Quantum gradients are rated at 30 mtesla/m with a peak 125 tesla/m/sec slew rate and maximum 50-cm field-of-view. Achieving such specifications while maintaining the 60-cm apertures of the Symphony and Harmony magnet bores is a major accomplishment, the company said. Siemens believes that the gradients will improve clinical imaging parameters by 25% to 50%.

The gradients were featured in the MRI section of Siemens' booth at this month's European Congress of Radiology in Vienna. They require 510(k) certification from the Food and Drug Administration and thus are not yet commercially available in the U.S.