Philips to Unveil AI-Enabled, Helium-Free Wide-Bore MRI at RSNA 2024

Royal Philips announced its next-generation 1.5T BlueSeal MR wide-bore scanner will be unveiled at RSNA 2024. The latest generation scanner features a 70 cm wide-bore design and integrates AI-enabled MR Smart Workflow solutions, designed to enhance access and diagnostic confidence to improve outcomes for more patients. The MR Smart Workflow solutions increase daily patient throughput without compromising diagnostic quality to address the needs of high-demand healthcare environments.

Key to this latest innovation is Philips’ unique Smart Reading technology, a cloud-based AI toolset that integrates imaging and reading on the MR scanner. In partnership with computer-aided diagnostics company icometrix (Leuven, Belgium) for neurological indications like Alzheimer’s and Multiple Sclerosis, and imaging biomarker specialist Quibim for prostate cancer, Smart Reading drives precision diagnosis to a new level by providing fully automated AI-based quantitative reports.

Also, the BlueSeal MRI with helium-free operations is up to 1700kg lighter compared to conventional 1.5T zero boil off systems. Since there is no need for a vent pipe, it enables flexible installations in new locations, including elevated floors or indoor sites with construction limitations, bringing quality MRI to more patients, where helium logistics are challenging or costly.

“Philips invented helium-free operations in MRI, and since its launch in 2018, we have installed more than 1,500 BlueSeal systems globally in wide-ranging settings including the world’s first helium-free mobile MRI units. With AI applications seamlessly integrated into our latest 1.5T BlueSeal scanner, we have now applied AI to every aspect of the MRI workflow –from patient set-up and high-resolution image capture to quantitative data extraction, advanced diagnostics, and reporting. With this latest innovation, we continue our commitment to deliver wider access to quality MRI to more patients across multiple settings,” said Ioannis Panagiotelis, PhD, Global Business Leader MRI at Philips.

The value of Philips BlueSeal technology is also recognized by customers worldwide including MRT Praxis Potsdam in Germany, who have realized a massive increase in patient throughput from 32-35 to 40 patients per day with a BlueSeal MRI equipped with SmartSpeed.

In fast-growing areas such as neurology, oncology and cardiology where MRI is an important tool, improving patient outcomes requires the acquisition of more diagnostic information without compromising scan time and efficiency or adding complexity. Seamlessly integrated into Philips’ new wide-bore BlueSeal MR system, the company’s Smart Workflow planning and image acquisition solutions leverage the power of AI to support technologists through every step of the MRI process, from scheduling to patient set-up. This suite of AI-enabled workflow solutions delivers fast, consistent, and precise imaging, to help maximize efficiency and enhance diagnostic confidence. Key components include:

• SmartExam automates MRI exam planning, scanning, and processing for up to 80% of procedures, ensuring consistency and reproducibility in imaging outcomes
• SmartFit coils give technologists freedom to position the ultra-light weight coils with flexible bending greater than 90 degrees, while taking patient comfort to the next level
• SmartSpeed offers up to 65% higher image resolution without added scan time, or up to three times faster scans and is compatible with 97% of clinical protocols
• SmartQuant AI-enhanced quantitative MR solution generates fast, high-quality, quantitative MR images for multiple anatomies including brain, spine, MSK, liver and heart to generate more objective diagnostic information in very short scan times
• SmartReading’s unique integration of imaging and reading capabilities on the MR scanner enables fully automated 0-click generation of AI-based quantitative reports