An MRI cold head is an essential part of your Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machine that plays a critical role in keeping it running at its optimum performance level.
Just like your car, MRI machines need routine maintenance to keep them running optimally and prevent the need for early part replacement or, worse, costly breakdowns that can significantly impact clinic workflow and patient care.
This article will explain what this essential component does, what causes it to fail, and what you can do to help extend its lifespan and avoid those costly breakdowns.
An MRI cold head is a mechanical device on your machine that recondenses the helium gas back into liquid after it has finished cooling the MRI magnet. It’s critical to keeping your magnet at optimal temperatures, preventing helium from burning off and preventing that dreaded and extremely costly unplanned MRI quench.
The performance of this essential component is measured by the recondensing margin, which indicates its cooling capacity. It can easily be viewed and monitored directly on the MRI console. If you notice its effectiveness declining, corrective maintenance should be done immediately to help extend its lifespan and keep your machine operating optimally.
Like your digital X-ray machine, regular maintenance and preventative measures will also keep your equipment running optimally and prevent costly downtime or, worse, the need for machine replacement.
These components require regular replacement since they work hard 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year to keep your magnet super-cooled and prevent costly helium burnoff. If you run your car that often without regular maintenance and oil changes, it will quickly break down, and MRIs are no different.
As these hard-working components age, they lose about 10% of their cooling capacity every year. For this reason, they generally last about 18 to 24 months before they need replacement.
However, that will depend on the system, the quality of the parts, and how well the MRI was maintained so that yours may last less or longer than that.
There are generally two reasons why these components inevitably fail. The first one is their limited lifespan. They age quickly since they work hard 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to keep your helium cold.
Generally speaking, once they reach about 18 to 24 months old, they’re nearing the end of that lifespan. Yours may last fewer or more months, depending on your system, the parts used, and how well maintenance was performed.
The other main reason these components fail is contamination. Contamination generally happens when impurities in the helium or oil inside the compressor migrate into it. It typically occurs when there is a saturated absorber present, and this is why routine maintenance is critical to expanding its lifespan.
The best way to extend the cold head's lifespan is to use high-quality parts installed by a knowledgeable engineer. Using cheap replacement parts or untrained people to perform the installations often results in helium contamination, which shortens the cold head's lifespan and requires more maintenance and repairs.
Also, ensure your skilled technicians perform dynamic testing on it in every position to ensure it's working as it should. Bench testing is when it is only tested once in a stationary position, so it may or may not work in the other positions.
Monitoring your magnet remotely is also a good idea because it allows you to identify any issues before losses occur. Your remote monitoring system will detect and notify you of problems. That way, you can respond quickly, perform corrective maintenance, prevent costly helium losses, and enhance your system’s lifespan.
Finally, routine maintenance on the machine generally extends the lifespan. Maintenance can vary with the machine, so always follow your manufacturer’s guidelines on how and when to perform routine maintenance. Then, only allow trained professionals to perform that maintenance.
One major maintenance requirement that shouldn’t be overlooked is the absorber, a filtration barrier critical for preventing oil from contaminating the helium. If that filter becomes saturated, it must be replaced immediately. However, it's far better to be proactive and check it routinely before it becomes saturated because once it does, it can cause helium contamination and possibly result in costly repairs.
This preventative maintenance will greatly extend the lifespan of your cold head. Additionally, understanding and monitoring the fluctuation in your re-condensing margin will ensure it always operates at its maximum efficiency.
A mechanical device on your MRI recondenses the helium gas back into liquid after cooling the magnet. Its optimal performance is critical to maintaining the magnet's correct temperature and preventing helium from burning off.
Proper preventative maintenance of your MRI cold head is critical to ensure the smooth, reliable operation of your Magnetic Resonance Imaging system. By choosing quality parts, scheduling regular maintenance, replacing your absorber filters, and employing remote monitoring, you can extend its lifespan, reduce helium burn-off, and avoid unexpected system downtime.
If you want to optimize your imaging setup, PatientImage offers a range of high-quality digital X-ray systems to help you enhance patient care.