From Hitachi Medical Systems America Inc.;
Hitachi expanded its portfolio with the Echelon™ 1.5T. The MRI scanner combines a compact magnet and a scalable 8-channel RF system with high-performance gradients and slew rate to select short echo times, small field of views, high matrices and thin slices. Standard features of the Echelon MRI system include higher-order active shim, RAPID (parallel imaging for use on brain MRI, body, cardiovascular imaging, and orthopedic coils), multiple coil ports, and an advanced reconstruction engine.

From Toshiba America Medical Systems Inc.;
the EXCELART is a superconducting whole body MRI system with a short wide-bore magnet, operating at 1.5 T. It features powerful high-speed gradients with a revolutionary gradient acoustic noise reduction system: Pianissimo. The dramatic reduction of gradient acoustic noise by Pianissimo greatly enhances patient comfort during exams. The standard array platform and a wide range of array coils ensure excellent images. A powerful 64-bit RISC-based computer system and newly developed array processor realize high productivity.

From Toshiba America Medical Systems Inc.;
the EXCELART is a superconducting whole body MRI system with a short wide-bore magnet, operating at 1.5 T. It features powerful high-speed gradients with a revolutionary gradient acoustic noise reduction system: Pianissimo. The dramatic reduction of gradient acoustic noise by Pianissimo greatly enhances patient comfort during exams. The standard array platform and a wide range of array coils ensure excellent images. A powerful 64-bit RISC-based computer system and newly developed array processor realize high productivity.

Perflubron® is a perfluorochemical for use as an oral contrast agent. Due to its insolubility in water it does not mix with intestinal secretions; thus bowel lumina appear homogeneously dark on MR images when Perflubron® replaces bowel contents. Filled bowel loops appear black with all pulse sequences because the contrast agent lacks mobile protons.
It is commercially available as Imagent GI. Because rapid transit through the gastrointestinal tract it reaches the rectum within 30 to 40 minutes in most patients. MR imaging of the upper abdominal region should begin within 15 minutes and of the pelvic region 15 to 60 minutes after ingestion of perflubron.

See also Classifications, Characteristics, etc.

From Philips Medical Systems; the Intera-family offers with this mid field system maximum efficiency, flexibility and performance. All Philips MR products contain SENSE (coil SENSitivity Encoding) technology - that increases scanning speed.