What is the Highest Strength Open MRI That I Can Purchase?

Open MRI systems are suitable for clinics that serve either obese patients or those with claustrophobia or anxiety. Unlike conventional MRI systems which require a patient to enter a tunnel and remain there for a period of time (sometimes up to an hour), open MRI’s allow the patient a view of the room.

Open magnets are also desirable since they often don’t require expensive helium to operate, reducing the monthly costs of maintenance and operation.

The downside of open MRI systems, however, is that they often don’t have the same field strength (and hence image quality) as conventional, helium-based, closed-bore (cylindrical) MRI systems.

Two of the highest-strength open magnets available in the refurbished equipment market today are the Hitachi Oasis 1.2T and the Philips Panorama 1.0T. They are both “dipolar electromagnets” meaning the coils are in two pillars (vs. only one in lower-strength open MRI systems).

Hitachi Oasis 1.2T

Hitachi Oasis are fairly rare in the used equipment market, and will often sell for over $500,000 when they are available. They are also tricky to install since they require the use of proprietary dollies from Hitachi.

Philips Panorama HFO 1.0T

Philips Panorama’s are much more affordable on the secondary market and typically sell between $200,000 – $250,000 installed. Given the benefits of this system and great return on investment, the Panorama 1T makes for a wise purchasing decision for any diagnostic imaging center.