Philips unveils next-generation BlueSeal helium-free MRI system, integrated with AI-enabled Smart Reading at #RSNA24

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Nov. 21, 2024

• Industry’s first wide bore, high-performance helium-free [1] 1.5T MR features AI assistance at every step in the MRI workflow, with seamless integration of cloud-based AI image reading and reporting tools on the MR scanner
• Philips BlueSeal helium-free magnet combined with compact and lightweight design allows flexibility of installations in difficult and remote locations to improve wider access to advanced MRI
• Philips’ award-winning [2] AI-based SmartSpeed image reconstruction technology delivers exceptional image quality to save time and improve outcomes with up to 65% higher resolution or up to 3x faster scanning [3]

Amsterdam, the Netherlands – Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA), a global leader in health technology, today 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 differentiating Philips in the industry is the eco-friendly design of the BlueSeal MRI with helium-free operations, making it the lightest 1.5T 70cm MRI system available today [4]. Up to 1700kg lighter [4] and 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 [5].
 
AI-enabled workflow, planning and image acquisition
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 [6], 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 [7];
SmartSpeed offers up to 65% higher image resolution [3] without added scan time, or up to three times faster scans [3] and is compatible with 97% of clinical protocols [8];
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 [9] generation of AI-based quantitative reports.

Philips industry-leading BlueSeal MR
Preloaded with only 7 liters of helium – which never needs refilling, even in the event of an emergency shutdown – Philips has saved nearly 2.75 million liters to date [10].  While needing only a fraction of a typical scanner’s helium volume, the 7 liters in a BlueSeal scanner also has a high thermal capacity to keep the magnet cold and super conductive for more than 4 hours in the event of a power outage [11] – a critical consideration in many locations worldwide. Philips BlueSeal MRI systems are also designed to minimize vital energy consumption and reduce a center’s carbon footprint, helping to meet both financial and environmental goals by saving nearly 40mWh in energy per year.
 
The next generation Philips BlueSeal 1.5T will be demonstrated in the Philips booth (#6730) at the Radiological Society of North America Annual Meeting (RSNA 2024, December 1-4, Chicago, USA). Visit Philips at RSNA for more information.

[1] Helium-free operations. 7 liters of helium is permanently enclosed in the cryogenic circuit. 
[2] Adaptive-C-SENSE-Net technology is the winner of the FastMRI Challenge hosted by Facebook AI Research and NYU Langone Health (2019).
[3] Compared to Philips SENSE imaging.
[4] Compared to conventional 1.5T zero boil off systems in the industry BlueSeal MR system weight (with cryogen) 2,300 kg (5,071 lbs).
[5] Results from case studies are not predictive of results in other cases. Results in other cases may vary.
[6] SmartExam is not available to patients with MR Conditional Implants.
[7] 1.5T SmartFit TorsoCardiac
[8] On average, measured across a sample of sites from Philips MR Installed Base.
[9]  0-click workflow refers to steps after completion of data-acquisition to AI processing. No additional user-interaction is required to send data to the External application cloud and to receive reports in PACS.
[10] The amount of liquid helium saved is a calculation compared to a classic magnet with 1500 liters of helium.
[11] On average, determined based on actual installed-base data. Results may vary per system.

For further information, please contact:

Kathy O’Reilly
Philips Global Press Office
Tel.: +1 978-221-8919
E-mail: kathy.oreilly@philips.com

About Royal Philips

Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA) is a leading health technology company focused on improving people's health and well-being through meaningful innovation. Philips’ patient- and people-centric innovation leverages advanced technology and deep clinical and consumer insights to deliver personal health solutions for consumers and professional health solutions for healthcare providers and their patients in the hospital and the home. Headquartered in the Netherlands, the company is a leader in diagnostic imaging, ultrasound, image-guided therapy, monitoring, and enterprise informatics, as well as in personal health. Philips generated 2023 sales of EUR 18.2 billion and employs approximately 69,300 employees with sales and services in more than 100 countries. News about Philips can be found at www.philips.com/newscenter

Attachments

• BlueSeal 1.5T MRI side view
• BlueSeal 1.5T MRI front view
• Next generation BlueSeal 1.5T MRI system in use
• MR technologist reviewing neuro images in AI reporting