Siemens Espree - Open Bore 1.5T MRI

Siemens has introduced an open-bore 1.5T system called the Espree that is almost the shape of a CT scanner. Most examinations therefore (except for brain and cervical spine) can be performed with the head out.

As Scanman at Diagnostic Imaging points out in his column, this does change the way the whole "open" issue will be played out in the future. Traditional open systems will probably die out...in fact the only reason for low-Tesla scanners is because they are open and cheap. With competition and more and more people installing 1.5T systems, the death of low-Tesla open systems is guaranteed.

What will happen with the Stand-Up system sold by Fonar is difficult to predict.

The downside of this system? Though I couldn't find specs on the Siemens site, it appears that the FoV is only 30cm. This can create a problem for abdominal and spine studies, though it should not affect whole spine screening, etc due to the TIM concept.

With Espree and with TIM, Siemens seems to have moved pretty far ahead of its competition, at least this year.