The 7 Tesla (T) scanner Magnetom Terra is the first fully designed and manufactured by Siemens, with a new 7T magnet in its core, and comes with the lightest actively shielded 7T whole body magnet in the world, according to a company press release.
Siemens says that its Magnetom system is “designed to translate cutting-edge MRI research results into clinical application, and it is the world’s first ultra-high field research system ready for future clinical use with planned CE and FDA authorisation to market for selected neurological and musculoskeletal MR imaging applications.”
Its dual mode functionality allows users to switch from research modes to specific clinical protocols in less than ten minutes. The new system provides the whole range of 7T research functionalities, and is based on the latest software platform syngo MR E11, identical to Siemens’ latest flagship 3T MRI systems, to enable consistent usability and protocol exchange.
Siemen’s says that Magnetom Terra’s actively shielded magnet is the lightest 7T whole body magnet in the world—50% lighter than previous actively shielded 7T magnet generations. This is the result of a multiyear engineering project at Siemens Magnet Technologies in Oxford, UK, capitalising on the long-term experience of the team in the design and manufacturing of 3T magnets for clinical use. As a result, with Magnetom Terra, siting of a 7T system becomes much easier and its location in a clinical environment becomes feasible. Combined with the zero helium boil-off technology, Magnetom Terra improves the lifecycle costs of ultra-high field MRI.
Magnetom Terra increases the potential for translating research capabilities into future clinical application—for anatomical, functional or metabolic MRI. This specially-designed 7T technology makes this possible by offering:
- Up to eight-channel parallel transmit technology for selective excitation and higher homogeneity in challenging body regions such as cardiac and abdominal.
- Up to 64 receive channels for higher coil density in the field of view to achieve higher acceleration factors, higher signal-to-noise ratio and higher spatial resolution, and a better coverage of the body regions of interest.
- High gradient strength of up to 80 millitesla per metre and a fast gradient switching rate of up to 200T per metre per second for advanced studies with diffusion and functional MRI.
- The software platform syngo MR E11 identical to Siemens’ 3T MRI systems such as Magnetom Skyra and Magnetom Prisma.
For specific clinical areas, Magnetom Terra is planning for CE and FDA authorisation to market the system and the corresponding local coils:
- Gaining insights into the musculoskeletal system through high isotropic spatial resolution of 0.2 mm.
- Imaging brain tumours and irregularities in the brain’s metabolic processes.
- Visualising neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, epilepsy, schizophrenia and multiple sclerosis.
