The Food and Drug Administration has awarded clearance to GE Healthcare’s SIGNA 70T MRI scanner, which has been deemed the most powerful clinical imaging machine. It operates at 7 Tesla, whereas most modern scanners produce 3 Tesla magnetic fields.
The SIGNA 7.0T has UltraG gradient technology, a whole-body gradient coil, advanced diffusion, and functional brain imaging. According to a press release, the scanner is designed to be used for both research and clinical purposes.
The scanner features SIGNAWorks, a software platform with deep learning applications like AIR x brain for automated slice positioning and Silent MR imaging. The SIGNA 7.0T is built with Precision RF transmit, which can improve image quality and “enable development in parallel transmit.” It also has a specialized platform for advanced knee and cartilage imaging that can produce ultra-high-resolution anatomical visualizations.
“We were immediately impressed with the quality and stability of the SIGNA 7.0T system,” said Michela Tosetti, PhD, laboratory director at IRCCS Stella Maris and Imago7 Research Foundations and professor at the University of Pisa, who used the SIGNA 7.0T at GE Healthcare MR headquarters earlier this year. “We are keen to upgrade our system to this new configuration continuing our relationship with GE to realize the promise of this technology to meet our imaging goals.”
