Philips introduces Ingenia Ambition X 1.5T MR with fully-sealed BlueSeal magnet for helium-free operations

Ingenia Ambition X combines fully-sealed BlueSeal magnet technology and workflow innovations for step-change in productivity

Royal Philips, a global leader in health technology, today launched the Ingenia Ambition X 1.5T MR. Incorporating Philips’ breakthrough BlueSeal fully-sealed magnet, the Ingenia Ambition X is the world’s first MR system to enable helium-free operations, reducing the chance of potentially lengthy and costly disruptions, and virtually eliminating dependency on a commodity with an unpredictable supply. The first commercial installation of the Ingenia Ambition X was recently completed at Spital Uster Hospital, a major provider of extended primary healthcare in the canton of Zurich, Switzerland. The Ingenia Ambition X is CE marked and has received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

“We are very proud to be the first hospital in the world to offer this new cutting edge, resource-friendly MRI technology to our patients,” said Dr Andreas Steinauer, Chief Radiologist at Spital Uster Hospital, Switzerland. “With the new Philips Ingenia Ambition X our patients can have the best of two worlds: leading MRI technology with a smaller footprint. This new leaner platform will allow more sites to deliver advanced MRI technology to their patients, helping to improve patient care.”

This announcement completes the renewal of the Ingenia MRI portfolio, which comprises fully-digital MRI systems, healthcare informatics and a range of maintenance and life cycle services for integrated solutions that support customers’ needs for first-time-right imaging, enhanced diagnostic capabilities and improved productivity.

1.5T MR imaging is core to the day-to-day operations of radiology departments in the UK and around the world, supporting clinicians in the diagnosis of a wide range of patient conditions. As demand for care increases and budgets become more constrained, improvements in productivity of this diagnostic mainstay can have a significant impact. The Ingenia Ambition X can substantially improve overall efficiency, combining its revolutionary BlueSeal magnet with innovations that can reduce downtime, enable single operator workflow and speed up exam times by up to 50 %.

“MRI provides exceptional diagnostic and therapy guidance capabilities, but it also places substantial operational demands on the hospital or imaging center due to requirements for installation, footprint and services,” said Ben Huard, Business Marketing Manager, MR at Philips UK. “With our breakthrough fully-sealed BlueSeal technology we’re dramatically cutting the amount of liquid helium needed to cool the magnet to less than half a percent of the current norm. The result is numerous customer benefits from a smaller, lighter and more flexible installation footprint, and a more efficient return to normal operations when required.”

A wealth of innovations delivers step-change in MR productivity

The Ingenia Ambition X includes a range of innovative features that combine to deliver a step-change in productivity. With Philips’ EasySwitch services, the BlueSeal’s magnetic field can be easily turned off if an item becomes stuck in the bore. Once the problem is resolved, an in-house or Philips technician can initiate an automated ramp-up to bring the magnet back to field, minimizing operational downtime. A conventional MR typically requires two staff to manage daily operations. The Ingenia Ambition X combines guided patient setup and Adaptive Intelligence-driven SmartExam analytics for automatic planning, scanning and processing. This frees up time to enable a single operator to manage the full scan from the patient’s side with just a single touch of a button.

Philips Compressed SENSE is an advanced acceleration application that reduces exam times by up to 50%. In addition, Philips VitalEye is a unique approach to detecting patient physiology and breathing movement. VitalEye technology and algorithms intelligently extract signs of breathing – allowing routine exam set-up time to occur in less than a minute, even for less experienced operators. Together, these innovations help to standardize and speed up workflow, allowing clinicians to focus on the patient.

The Ingenia Ambition X is part of the all-new Ingenia digital MR portfolio and complements the recently introduced Ingenia Elition and Ingenia Prodiva MR solutions. For more information about Philips’ MR portfolio and to see how Philips’ MR Innovations are improving diagnostic speed, comfort and confidence visit the next MR wave webpage.