Advanced Healthcare in a Relaxed Atmosphere

Open MRI Zen is a diagnostic center in Sluis, the Netherlands, which has been using a Vantage Galan 3T MRI system from Canon Medical since the beginning of 2019. Together with the team of radiologists, the system contributes to the health of patients who come to the center from the Netherlands and Belgium. The MRI system features Advanced intelligent Clear-IQ Engine (AiCE), in combination with the Compressed SPEEDER. MR Theater has also recently been added. VISIONS spoke with Radiologist, Dr. Jurgen Vanslembrouck, about the 3T MRI scanner.

How does the image quality of the Vantage Galan 3T contribute to better diagnoses?

“Image quality is of primary importance in a wide range of diagnoses. AiCE provides significantly improved resolution in all examinations. We particularly see the benefit of this in the imaging of (articular) cartilage, prostate and nervous system. Certain pathology can now be more easily visualized, whereas it was previously out of focus or not visible. Examples include microadenomas in the pituitary gland, better differentiation of the degree of cartilage disease and the morphology of potentially aberrant zones in the prostate.”

VISIONS spoke with Radiologist, Jürgen Vanslembrouck, at ‘Open MRI Zen’ diagnostic center in Sluis, the Netherlands, about the Vantage Galan 3T MRI.

How do the advanced techniques available with this MRI system contribute to the workflow, and what are the benefits for the user?

“The software upgrade and implementation of AiCE with Compressed SPEEDER results in significantly shorter examination times, increasing the number of examinations possible within a standard working day. Alongside shorter examination times for the patient, there is also improved quality of the examinations: artifacts caused by movements of the patient can be minimized, and more sequences can be performed within a planned examination time on a patient. It is, therefore, also possible to re-execute a non-optimal sequence, or even several, in order to obtain the best overall study.”

“Certain pathology can now be more easily visualized, whereas it was previously out of focus or not visible.”
Dr. Jurgen Vanslembrouck, Radiologist, Open MRI Zen. Specialisations: General Radiology with a special focus on abdominal, neuro and mammo under MRI and ultrasound.

Patient experience is a top priority at Open MRI Zen. In what ways does the Vantage Galan 3T support this?

“The focus of the Open MRI Zen center is to cater for the imaging needs of claustrophobic and obese patients. Due to the short tunnel, which is also larger in usable space than other devices on the market, a 3T examination can often be performed in these patients who would otherwise require a lower field strength (open) device.

In addition, the device is relatively quiet, which many patients appreciate. The sound produced by other devices is higher. Louder device sounds often contribute to triggering patients’ claustrophobia. The Vantage Galan 3T, thus, represents a particularly good compromise in providing a 3T field strength MRI examination for claustrophobic and obese patients.”

How has Open MRI Zen found the collaboration with Canon Medical?

“Agreements are met and there is a very broad flexibility in planning training, maintenance and adjustments. In this way, the planning of examinations is not put under pressure and these additional activities have a minimal impact on the functioning of the clinic. Canon Medical also has a great willingness to support new projects and trials such as scientific research.”

Why was Canon Medical chosen? What sets Canon apart from the rest of the MRI market?

“Canon Medical was chosen because they were able to produce the highest quality images with the 3T system within all clinical domains. In short: the good image quality that benefits diagnosis is experienced in the imaging of all body regions.
In addition, there are Canon’s ongoing technological developments that we have been able to gradually implement here, such as AiCE, Compressed SPEEDER and MR Theater. The system is therefore continuously adaptable and upgradeable according to the evolution and growth of Open MRI Zen and the expectations of users and patients.”

A deep-dive with Open MRI Zen: Muscle Spectroscopy and MR arthrography

Open MRI Zen offers a Muscle Talent Scan. What and for whom is this type of scan?
A Muscle Talent Scan is for all categories of athletes, from starters to elite sportspeople. It is an ideal baseline study to determine how best to train for injury-free recreational or professional sports, regardless of the sport. The aim of this type of research is to find out the composition of the muscle tissue. The scan shows the ratio between red muscle fibers (endurance sport) and white fibers (strength and explosive sport), which gives athletes and trainers direction:

Is the athlete with his muscle type active within the most suitable discipline?
How can the athlete train optimally within his discipline in order to remain injury-free?
How can the athlete train to achieve the best performance?
How can the athlete best recover after a performance and in what way?

What is measured during this spectroscopy examination and how long does the examination take?
During the study, the carnosine concentration is measured in a fixed volume within the soleus muscle. The total duration is approximately 30 minutes.

Why is it less often necessary to administer intra-articular contrast medium in MRI examinations of the shoulder today?
The images are now simply of particularly high resolution, cartilage is depicted in great detail. The administration of intra-articular contrast fluid is, therefore, often not necessary. Ligaments and labrum are also better visualized.

Find out more about Vantage Galan 3T

Advanced intelligent Clear-IQ Engine AiCE is part of Canon Medical's Altivity suite of solutions, which leverage AI to overcome challenges of image appearance and/or reconstruction speed when used in a clinical setting.

Find out more about Altivity