E-Z-EM Introduces EmpowerMR Injector System
E-Z-EM introduced at RSNA 2006 in Chicago the EmpowerMR injector system, which is the company's first product for the (MR) imaging market. Based on the company's Empower family of CT injector systems, EmpowerMR has the same easy-to-use interface and safety features and also employs several innovative features designed to cope with the problem of electrical interference in the magnetic field of the MR scanner. The system is currently pending FDA clearance and was displayed as a work-in-progress, the company said.

Electromechanical devices like injector systems can create both electric and magnetic fields that cause electrical interference with the scanner during the imaging process, leading to image distortion or artifacts.

To reduce this problem, EmpowerMR employs a hydraulic control system instead of the shielded electrical control components used by most other MR injector systems. EmpowerMR has no shielded iron motors, piezoelectric motors and electrically active motor control circuitry adjacent to the scanner, which significantly minimizes the prospect of electrical interference with the scanner's magnetic field. EmpowerMR is also not battery operated, and links to its electrical supply by a single pass-through cable that does not require special shielding.
Because there's no motor in the MR suite, EmpowerMR does not generate audible noise. EmpowerMR's hydraulic control also means the system can deliver consistent flow rates, volumetric and pressure performance on demand – features which may help improve productivity in the MR suite, the company said.
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