Ningbo develops nation's first liquid helium-free MRI system

A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system developed by a Ningbo-based company recently obtained a sales permit from the National Medical Drugs Administration, making it the first State-level medical device developed by the city, according to local media reports.

The MRI system was developed by Xingaoyi Medical Equipment Co Ltd in partnership with the Ningbo University of Nottingham China and the Ningbo Huamei Hospital of University of Chinese Academy of Sciences.

The system relies on refrigeration instead of the commonly used liquid helium to cool its core components which comprise superconducting magnets, according to a company representative at Xingaoyi Medical Equipment.

The technological breakthrough will allow China to wean itself off the reliance on foreign liquid helium and give rise to a revolution in the magnetic resonance industry.

The newly developed system is mobile and can perform medical diagnosis for people in multiple postures, something that is difficult to achieve using conventional superconducting magnetic resonance systems.

The company has to date filed for eight invention patents for the system.

Liquid helium is a scarce resource and traditional superconducting magnetic resonance equipment accounts for nearly 30 percent of the global liquid helium consumption.