Siemens Healthineers and Bayer Unveil First Synchronized MRI Contrast Imaging System Interface

Erlangen, Germany, July 16, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Siemens Healthineers and Bayer unveiled for the first time the new Imaging System Interface (ISI) for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at the European Congress of Radiology (ECR) 2020, held from July 15 to 19. The ISI’s hardware and software were jointly developed by Siemens Healthineers and Bayer, marking the first high-pressure injector–MRI scanner interface applied in MRI. Traditional MRI scans place significant operational stress on physicians while often yielding suboptimal imaging results. The ISI can synchronize Bayer Medrad^®MRXperion MRI high-pressure injectors and Siemens Healthineers MRI scanners overcome the significant challenges posed by the complex workflows of traditional contrast-enhanced dynamic MRI imaging. ISI enables synchronized injector control directly from the MRI console, streamlining workflows to deliver higher-quality, more consistent contrast-enhanced scans, allowing physicians to focus more attention on patient care.^[2]

In traditional, manually controlled settings, technologists must continuously plan, monitor, and calculate the timing for each step on both the injector and scanner workstations during contrast-enhanced MRI. If the required steps are not optimally timed or synchronized, suboptimal image quality may result, leading to diagnostic delays and the need for patients to undergo repeat MRI scans. This incurs additional costs for the healthcare system and imposes unnecessary stress and inconvenience on both patients and medical institutions.

Professor Olaf Weber, Head of Radiology Research and Development at Bayer, stated: “Together with Siemens Healthineers, we designed an integrated interface to address the challenges of traditional contrast-enhanced dynamic MRI workflows, while simultaneously improving the experience for both users and patients.”

“The integration between MRI imaging and injectors represents a major achievement in the transformation of healthcare services. Control is achieved with a simple mouse click on the MRI console, making synchronized MRI injections easier and eliminating the need for multiple time-sensitive interactions across different consoles. In the long term, it is also well-suited for scenarios where specialists remotely operate MRI systems,” said Arthur Kaindl, Head of MRI at Siemens Healthineers.

The ISI System has recently obtained CE certification.

^[1]Products/features may not be available in certain countries/regions. Due to regulatory reasons, their future availability cannot be guaranteed. Please contact your local Siemens Healthineers team for details. The information shown here refers to products from third-party manufacturers, which are subject to regulation by the respective third-party manufacturers. Please contact the third-party manufacturers for more information.

^[2]Thoermer, G. et al. Reduced Stress and Consistent Contrast-enhanced MRI Scans with Precisely Timed, Automated Injection Enabled by MR-Injector Coupling. Bayer and Siemens Healthineers. 2020.

Thoermer, G. et al. MRI injector with precise timing and automated injectionLinkageTo Reduce Stress and Ensure Consistent Contrast-Enhanced MRI Scans. Bayer and Siemens Healthineers. 2020.

For more information on ECR 2020, please click
https://www.siemens-healthineers.com/de/press-room/press-features/pf-ecr2020.html.