GE Healthcare has received the CE Mark for SilentScan, an MRI scanning mode that reduces scanning noise dramatically.
First introduced at the 2012 RSNA meeting, SilentScan is designed to quiet the noise produced by the switching of an MRI scanner's gradient coils and radiofrequency (RF) signals. Such noise can measure up to 110 decibels and contributes to the patient discomfort that can lead to uncompleted MRI exams.
SilentScan uses a new MRI protocol called a Silenz sequence that acquires k-space data radially rather than in line-by-line fashion, eliminating the need to switch gradients -- and thus reducing much of the scanner's loudest operating noises. SilentScan reduces scanner noise to 40 to 50 decibels, about the level of ambient room noise, according to the vendor.
GE is first making SilentScan available on its Discovery MR450w and Discovery MR750w wide-bore scanners; it currently supports T1, T2, and MR angiography with noncontrast arterial spin labeling scanning protocols.
The first European installation of SilentScan will be at the University of Rotterdam, and GE is highlighting the technology at ECR 2013. The technology does not yet have U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance.
