A piece of innovative medical equipment known as 1.5T cryogen-free clinical Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scanner co-developed by the University of Nottingham Ningbo China (UNNC), Ningbo-based, also known as China's first Sino-foreign university was awarded the national Innovative Medical Device registration certificate from National Medical Product Administration and was granted listing on market. 

"This is a breakthrough medical equipment emerged from the close cooperation among industry, academia, and research in the MRI field,” said Dr. Chengbo Wang, the director of the MRI Research Centre at UNNC. This innovative MRI scanner is bearing fruit from the research project funded by the Ministry of Science and Technology of the People’s Republic of China "Development of 1.5T cryogen-free superconducting magnets" collaborated among UNNC, Xingaoyi Medical Equipment Co. Ltd, and Hwa Mei Hospital, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Ningbo No.2 Hospital).    

Innovative Medical Devices are internationally recognized leading medical devices with intellectual property rights in China and have significant clinical applications. Since the first Innovative Medical Device was approved in 2014, only 150 others have been granted in China due to an extremely high threshold. The MRI scanner is classified as a Class III Innovative Medical Device which requires strict regulatory controls as they involve devices that are important to the health or sustaining life. 

Professor Richard Bowtell, Director of the Sir Peter Mansfield Imaging Centre at the University of Nottingham in the UK and a past President of the European Society of Magnetic Resonance in Medicine and Biology, stated that these were exciting developments made at UNNC. "Compared with conventional liquid-helium-cooled magnets, this innovative cryogen-free MRI system has a number of advantages, including reduced production and service costs, simplified cooling, and decreased weight," he said. He went on to say that this breakthrough in cryogen-free MRI technology will be one of the optimal solutions to dealing with the global shortage in helium resources. 

As the ideal refrigerated gas for superconducting MRI magnets, liquid helium used in MRI’s accounts for 25% of the global helium supply. However, the quantity of helium found in nature is minute and China’s global helium resource amounts to only 0.2%. The use of cryogen-free MRI’s has thus become increasingly important.

Dr. Chengbo Wang stated, "Due to the presence of liquid helium, traditional MRI scans can only be performed in a reclining position. Once the MRI begins to rotate, it is very easy for the magnets to overrun which could potentially lead to the liquid helium turning into gas and igniting an explosion." According to Dr. Chengbo Wang, the breakthrough in cryogen-free cooling systems has also laid a solid foundation for the technological advances in multi-pose MRI scanning techniques. The team is currently developing a 1.5T rotatable dual-gesture (reclining or standing) cryogen-free MRI scanner.  

Jianjun Zheng, Chief Radiology at Hwa Mei Hospital, stated that the MRI in standing posture has outstanding significance in the fields of neuroscience, blood perfusion, and spine and joint imaging in the clinic. In addition, the combination of the rotatable MRI and hyperpolarized noble gas imaging technology will provide new insights and perspectives on the diagnosis and evaluation of respiratory diseases such as Covid-19. The Hwa Mei Hospital, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Ningbo No.2 Hospital) will take the lead in the MRI’s clinical application.   

At present, UNNC, Xingaoyi Medical Equipment Co. Ltd, and Hwa Mei Hospital are jointly developing a mobile version of the MRI scanner. Since the cryogen-free MRI can be installed, used, and transported in small or enclosed spaces, this will be an important step in the development of mobile medical treatments in the future.  

Editor: Ye Ke