MITA Commends Bipartisan Senate Efforts to Protect Access to Domestic Helium Supply

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Washington, D.C. – The Medical Imaging & Technology Alliance (MITA) applauded Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman, Senator Ron Wyden, D-OR, and Ranking Member, Senator Lisa Murkowski, R-AK, for their bipartisan efforts to safeguard access to helium by yesterday introducing the Helium Stewardship Act of 2013 to prevent the premature closure of the Federal Helium Reserve.

“MITA applauds Senators Wyden and Murkowski for their leadership in introducing bipartisan legislation aimed at safeguarding access to the Federal Helium Reserve,” said Gail Rodriguez, Executive Director of MITA. “With legislation now advancing in both the House and Senate, Congress is taking the right steps to preserve reliable access to helium, which is essential to the manufacturing and operation of life-saving medical imaging technologies that help thousands of American patients every day.”

Helium is an essential component used in the creation and operation of medical imaging equipment, such as magnetic resonance (MRI) machines, which are critical to the advancement of medical research and the diagnosis of stroke, aneurysms, cancers, multiple sclerosis and other diseases. Liquid helium is the only element that can feasibly cool MRI magnets to temperatures suitable for imaging; thus, MRIs must be regularly replenished with helium in order to maintain normal operating temperatures.

In February, House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (R-WA) and Ranking Member Edward “Ed” Markey (D-MA) introduced the Responsible Helium Administration and Stewardship Act (H.R. 527), which was approved by the Natural Resources Committee last month. H.R. 527 is scheduled to be considered on the House floor later this week.

The Medical Imaging & Technology Alliance (MITA), a division of NEMA, is the collective voice of medical imaging equipment, radiation therapy and radiopharmaceutical manufacturers, innovators and product developers. It represents companies whose sales comprise more than 90 percent of the global market for medical imaging technology. For more information, visit www.medicalimaging.org.

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