How Critical are MRI Chillers to MRI Scanners and Medical Treatment

Bio-medical equipment used in super-specialty hospitals are expensive machines which have to be installed and operated with great care. Besides MRI scanners, linear accelerators, CT scan machines and blood analysers require low temperatures to function well. Chillers play a vital role in achieving this.

MRI chillers are critical in cooling a MRI scanner which is a large scanning equipment consisting of a huge outer ring enclosing a super conducting magnet. The MRI scanner is powered by software which can distinguish between cells based on their densities in a patient’s body enabling doctors to ascertain the extent of cell damage, presence of blood clots etc.

The major component in a MRI scanner is the powerful magnet which has to be maintained at a very low optimum temperature range of -200oC to -600oC. Such low temperatures are achieved by the MRI chiller which uses water for cooling.

Vital Components of an MRI Chiller

• liquid Helium cooling systems
• water-cooled gradient compressors
• emergency systems
• water supply
• cooling towers

After a chiller has absorbed the excess heat from the MRI scanner, the hot water in the chiller unit must be removed. If the water is dispersed into the air the chiller is called an air-cooled chiller where no extra equipment is needed. If the heated water is sent to another water source like a cooling tower it is a water-cooled chiller.

The working of MRI scanning equipment relies on the efficacy of the MRI chiller as the temperature has to be maintained within range or else the MRI scanner may overheat and malfunction. This will affect patients, doctors and hospital administrators.

To keep the MRI chiller working so that it can deliver uninterrupted cooling, emergency systems are designed into the system by manufacturers.

Back-Up Systems Include

• alternate water supply
• automatic city switch over
• air compressors
• refrigerated air driers
• alarms

It is imperative that MRI chillers are immune to equipment failure, and zero downtime as they lend support to MRI machines which help in complicated medical treatment.

MRI scanner’s high resolution imaging acquisition and processing capabilities help in the production of a digital map at the molecular level of organs in the body. The images captured by the MRI scanner can be rotated and sliced in different angles to extremely minute thickness to study the spread of diseases or abnormalities that may be present in the body down to the cellular level.

The scans as required in performing coronary MR angiography procedures and detect, diagnose and also treat heart disorders, blood vessel diseases and more.

Also Mri chillers are designed to be compatible with Mri scanners made by major bio-medical equipment manufacturers.