First Espree install at free-standing imaging center for Siemens

Siemens Medical Solutions has installed its Magnetom Espree open bore 1.5T MRI system at Turville Bay MRI and Radiation Oncology Center, an independent, not-for-profit, free-standing imaging center owned by St. Mary's Hospital and Meriter Hospital of Madison, Wis.

According to Siemens, the facility is the first independent imaging center to install the Magnetom Espree, which debuted in July. The MRI system is equipped with a short bore available at 125 cm (approximately four feet), allowing for more than 60 percent of exams to be completed with the patient's head outside of the bore. With a bore opening of 70 cm (nearly 2.3 feet) in diameter, the average distance between a patient's head and the MRI magnet at almost one foot.

The Espree system provides up to four times more signal-to-noise ratio which is desirable in imaging larger patients. In addition, the Espree can perform advanced clinical applications in less time, because it combines strong gradient performance with Siemens Tim (total imaging matrix) technology, said Siemens.

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