G-Scan - The magnetic resonance system G-scan is a dedicated scanner, specifically designed for limbs, joints and spine examinations. The unique tilting design of the magnet enables imaging of the patient in the weight bearing position. The minimum area required for the installation is 20 sqmt. For RF shielding either a custom designed RF cage can be used or the Esaote standard RF cage which has a dimension 3,85 x 3,85 x 2,65 and a weight of 660kg. The complete system weight is 8320 Kg (shielding box excluded) and thanks to its low energy consumption, less than 5 Kw, the system can be connected to a standard power outlet.

System composition

1)   Magnetic unit, including:
·      C-shaped permanent magnet in neodymium with 0.25 Tesla nominal vertical field; the size of the opening: 38 cm, with patient table 33 cm.
·      Magnet tilting : the magnet can be tilted from the horizontal to vertical position with a minimum steps of 2°, to enable imaging of the patient in the weight bearing position. Imaging can be performed in any position from 0° to 90°. Smooth movement is assured by a hydraulic tilting mechanism.
·      Fast gradient coils with ±20 mT/m gradient strength, 0.8 ms rise time (from 0 to +25 mT/m)
·      Radio frequency transmission coil
·      Total weight of the magnet unit is 7800 Kg.

2)    Patient table with advanced design, providing maximum patient comfort with an easy-to-move system for fast positioning. A dedicated set of cushions is provided.

 

3)    Set of 7 high sensitivity, self-centering receiving coils with automatic recognition; 4 coils are equipped with the Dual Phased Array (DPA) technology, merging the quadrature and the phased array techniques for optimal performances.
·      Coil n.1 : solenoidal coil (elliptical 14.5x17.5x12.6 cm), for shoulder examination, and big knees
·      Coil n.2 : DPA coil (elliptical 14.3x16.0x18.3 cm) for examination of the knee
·      Coil n.3 : DPA coil (elliptical 11.9x7.2x20.0 cm) for examination of the wrist, hand and elbow
 ·      Coil n.4 : DPA coil (elliptical  14.5x10.0x28.5 cm) for examination of the ankle and foot, and elbow.
·      Coil n.6 : The flexible coil is a general purpose coil. It can be used when a safe and effective positioning with the standard coils is very difficult due to tough patient conditions (painful joint and/or inability to assume/maintain a certain position).
·      Coil n.7 : DPA coil for imaging of the shoulder.
·      Coil n. 8 : dedicated spine coil integrated in the patient bed for easy positioning and maximum patient comfort.

 All coils come with a set of dedicated padding cushions, for a comfortable position of the patient and to avoid movements of the patient during the examination.

 

    4)   Radio frequency power amplifier : 1800W peak output power

    5)   RF penetration panel: included in the system are the RF filters necessary for the interface with RF screening which is either the shielding box (part code 910 198 4001) or a custom made RF shielding (to be provided locally).

     6)   Pulse sequences:
·      Spin Echo T1-weighted
·      Spin Echo Half Echo
·      Spin Echo Half Fourier
·      Spin Echo T2-weighted
·      Multi Echo (1st echo 28ms, 2nd echo 90ms)
·      Turbo Spin Echo T2-weighted
·      Turbo Multi Echo (1st echo 28ms, 2nd echo 90ms)
·      Gradient Echo
·      Inversion Recovery
·      Short Tau Inversion Recovery (STIR - Spin Echo)
·      Gradient Echo Short Tau Inversion Recovery (GE-STIR)
·      3D Gradient Echo (isotropic and anisotropic version)
·      3D CE (contrast enhanced)
·      Real Time

     7)   Imaging parameters:
·      Minimum slice thickness 2mm in 2D and 0,6 mm in 3D
·      Image matrix up to 512 x 512
·      Maximum number of slices 128
·      Scan planes : sagittal, coronal, transversal, oblique and double oblique

     8)    Data control, imaging and display system including :
·      Reconstruction times < 0,4 sec/image.
·      Display : 19” high contrast TFT flat panel monitor.
·      PC based control unit with PentiumÒ IV processor 3,6 Ghz and 4 GB Ram.
·      Control processor, 100 MIPS, 1,28 Mb Ram.
·      Hard disk 80.0 Gbyte (more than 100.000 images ).
·      Optical disc (max 1,3 Gb – 120.000 images at 256 matrix) for long term archive.
·      DVD-CD R/W unit (650 / 700 Mb – 7000 images at 256 matrix)

      9)    SW Release 9, including a powerful and user friendly graphic interface, a real time imaging tool which allows quick and effective patient positioning and examination set up, and a full set of pre-programmed protocols. User defined sequences and protocols can be modified and then memorized to create a set of customized examination protocols. For post-processing, the system is equipped with extensive image viewing, analysis and elaboration tools. G-scan is based on the WindowsÒ 2000 Professional Operating System, which make future enhancements and upgrades easy to implement.

     10)   Viewer lite function.
The Viewer Lite, that has the basic image manipulation functions Window, Pan and Zoom, is a simple PC compatible DICOM reader that is copied onto the CD when using the export function to write images to a CD. Images on the CD can be viewed on any Windows based PC by simply clicking the Viewer Lite icon. Viewer lite is compatible with Win 98, Win 2000, Win XP and Win NT.

     11)   Installation tools and calibration phantom set

     12)   Digital and analog printing interface. G-scan can be connected to the laser printer using either :
- digital data transfer (Imation/3MÒ protocol) for enhanced quality.
- DICOMÒ print via Ethernet connection (managed directly from the operator interface).
- analog printer connection.

      13). DICOMÒ Functionality
E-scan XQ features full DICOMÒ capabilities:

        ·      Storage – transmission of images to other modalities (workstations, PACS). Enabling the “Autosend” (also called “Auto-push”) function will automatically send all the images to the destination of choice without the need for operator interaction. Transmission rate depends on the Workstation type and Network speed.
·      Media Exchange for archiving images on a removable media (MOD or Cdrom), in DicomDir modality (“export function)
·      Print management SCU (for Dicom print)
·      Worklist Management (the E-scan receives the patients list of the day directly from the HIS / RIS of the hospital).

Shielding box

Special lightweight Faraday Cage made of innovative materials; thanks to its open structure it uses the existing lightning and air-conditioning system thus reducing installation costs and time. Thanks to its low weigh, normally the installation does not require dedicated civil works.


*  Dimensions: 3.85 x 3.85 (± 20mm) x 2.34 m (WxLxH) (outer dimensions including filters, but excluding the ramp at the box entrance and the external door handles).
*  Attenuation: 70 db.
*  Weight of the Shielding box : 660 Kg.

Flexible Coil kit

 

The new flexible coil allows a comfortable examination on patients suffering from acute trauma. Furthermore it can be applied for the examination of the hip for a good percentage of patients population.