Philips Launches Ingenia Digital Broadband MRI

Philips has announced a new family of MRI scanners, the Ingenia line. The main new feature of this line is the so-called digital broadband MR, which means that radiofrequency signals are digitized by microelectronics directly in the coil, rather than first transmitted in analog through coaxial cables and digitized in a separate analog-to-digital converter. According to Philips, this results in a 40% increase in signal-to-noise ratio, because the signal can be transmitted losslessly through a single fiber-optic connection instead of a bundle of analog cables. This also means the number of channels that coils can use is independent from the scanner specification, which is often a limitation with current scanners when acquiring newer more advanced coils.

Other features include a new FlexCoverage RF coil that is integrated in the patient table and gives 200cm of coverage for whole body imaging, and a MultiTransmit 4D coil that promises 40% faster gated imaging, a technique that is used mainly in cardiac MRI. A large 70cm bore enables patients up to 250kg to be scanned. The Ingenia scanner has been installed on several beta sites and is currently awaiting final FDA clearance.
Press release: Philips Ushers in New Era of Imaging with Introduction of Ingenia, the First-Ever Digital Broadband MRI System…
Product page: Ingenia 3.0T