University of Rochester (N.Y.) Medicine Imaging Sciences rebuilt five of its six aging MRI scanners onsite rather than replacing them — a strategy that reduced environmental waste and energy use and increased patient capacity.
The rebuild, done in partnership with GE HealthCare, preserves the MRI’s core magnet while upgrading surrounding technology, according to a Jan. 20 news release. The rebuilt scanners produce identical image quality at half the cost of a new machine, while avoiding an estimated 288 tons of carbon emissions and saving six tons of helium — a finite resource used to cool MRI magnets.
Each scanner now uses 30% less energy due to AI-assisted image reconstruction and allows shorter scan times, increasing MRI volume from 350 to 500 patients per month at one location.
UR Medicine Imaging Sciences also switched to syringeless contrast injectors for CT exams — a change applied across more than 100,000 annual scans — to further reduce waste.
