GE HealthCare Introduces AI-Powered Wide Bore MRI

At RSNA 2023, GE HealthCare introduced SIGNA Champion, a 1.5T wide bore Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) system designed to enhance the standard care of MRI exams for patients everywhere by democratizing advanced AI and innovative features to help enable faster and more precise MRI scans. SIGNA Champion is pending US FDA clearance.

According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 60-70% of the world population lacks access to MRI. While more patients gain access to MRI technology every year, they undergo a wide variation of quality, comfort & overall experience from their scans. Enabling equity in both the quality and experience of every MRI exam is equally as important as improving access to MRI for patients around the world.

“With SIGNA Champion, GE HealthCare will help enable patients to get the MR experience that everyone deserves - one that is naturally comfortable and swift - no matter their condition,” said Jie Xue, President & CEO, Global MR, GE HealthCare. “SIGNA Champion is evidence of GE HealthCare’s commitment to proliferate the benefits of our leading & premium AI solutions and innovations to a wider patient population. A patient undergoing a scan in a rural community imaging center should have the same quality and experience as one undergoing an examination in a private hospital in a downtown metro city. We believe SIGNA Champion is the catalyst to bridge our leading innovations for widespread clinical use and adoption, providing transformative benefits to everyone, everywhere.”

SIGNA Champion is designed to offer several AI-enabled workflow features, supporting efficiency, and delivering image quality excellence for users of all experience levels. SIGNA Champion is compatible with AIR Recon DL, providing exceptionally high image quality which potentially leads to more precise diagnoses. The benefits of AIR Recon DL are extended from 2D exams to 3D and PROPELLER to nearly all MRI clinical procedures, covering all anatomies and enabling better image quality, shorter scan times, and enhanced patient experience. To date, an estimated 16 million patients have been scanned with AIR Recon DL.  

SIGNA Champion is also compatible with Sonic DL, which offers new imaging paradigms such as high-quality cardiac MRI in a single heartbeat, reducing scan time by up to 83%[iv]. When applied to cardiac imaging, Sonic DL extends MRI access to cardiac patients with arrhythmias and breath-holding challenges, helping to ensure swift, consistent, and more comfortable exams.

SIGNA Champion’s unique combination of generous patient clearance inside the bore, short scan times and GE HealthCare’s award-winning AIR Coils support a more natural & comfortable patient experience. This is especially beneficial for patients experiencing significant pain and discomfort including pregnant and bariatric patients, patients unable to lie on their backs (e.g., Osteoporosis), and patients with breathing difficulties as examples. AIR Coils wrap around the patient like a blanket, offering a thinner, lighter solution compared to conventional RF coils, enhancing patient comfort with exceptional image quality.