{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,29]],"date-time":"2026-09-29T13:02:48Z","timestamp":1790686968736,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":14,"publisher":"Springer Science and Business Media LLC","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,29]],"date-time":"2026-09-29T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1790640000000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,29]],"date-time":"2026-09-29T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1790640000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["link.springer.com"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Insights Imaging"],"abstract":"\n Abstract<\/jats:title>\n Traditional MRI systems rely on large liquid-helium baths to maintain superconductivity, requiring complex infrastructure, quench pipes, and ongoing helium supply management. Modern \u201cdry\u201d or sealed micro-helium MRI magnets replace this approach using conduction cooling and sealed helium volumes of only a few liters. These systems drastically reduce helium dependence, eliminate routine refilling, simplify installation, and lower the lifetime operating costs. The major practical advance came from moving from the open helium baths in the 2010s, which still required quench pipes and other safety features, to sealed systems, rather than from differences in small helium volumes (e.g., 0.7 vs. 7\u2009L or 20\u2009L) marketed by vendors. Smaller volumes marginally affect safety margins and resilience during power interruptions, rather than affecting routine clinical operations. This paper provides a brief introduction to the problem and terminology, and subsequently presents the technological issues related to the volume of sealed micro-helium MRI magnets. It also provides a list of questions to ask about the magnet sub-assembly itself, which enables the calculation of the total cost of ownership.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Key Points<\/jats:title>\n \n \n \n \n Question<\/jats:bold>\n What does it mean and how relevant is a \u201chelium-free\u201d MRI magnet and the remaining sealed liquid Helium volume?\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:list-item>\n \n \n Findings<\/jats:bold>\n The real operational leap in MRI magnet technology was from hundreds\/thousands of liters of liquid helium to single-digit sealed systems; the sub-liter distinction does not really matter.\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:list-item>\n \n \n Clinical relevance statement<\/jats:bold>\n The article argues from a technical and economic perspective. While these sealed systems eliminate helium logistics, come with simpler siting, and reduced infrastructure costs, they raise other procurement questions for suppliers, like quench recovery time and resilience in low-resource settings.\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:list-item>\n <\/jats:list>\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1186\/s13244-026-02410-5","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,29]],"date-time":"2026-09-29T12:41:01Z","timestamp":1790685661000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/springer_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Helium-free MRI systems: What does that mean for a radiology decision maker?"],"prefix":"10.1186","volume":"17","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8624-0800","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Michael","family":"Friebe","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"297","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,29]]},"reference":[{"key":"2410_CR1","unstructured":"Philips USA (2026) Welcome to the era of helium-free MRI operations. 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J Magn Reson Imaging 52:686\u2013696. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/jmri.26942","journal-title":"J Magn Reson Imaging"},{"key":"2410_CR7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","unstructured":"Luo C, Liu G, Deng Y, Long Z, Lin M (2025) Design and optimization of liquid helium-free cooling systems for magnetic resonance imaging device using multi-physical modeling. Case Stud Therm Eng 66. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.csite.2025.105761","DOI":"10.1016\/j.csite.2025.105761"},{"key":"2410_CR8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"053001","DOI":"10.1088\/1361-6668\/aa5fed","volume":"30","author":"Y Iwasa","year":"2017","unstructured":"Iwasa Y (2017) Towards liquid-helium-free, persistent-mode MgB2 MRI magnets: FBML experience. Supercond Sci Technol 30:053001. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1088\/1361-6668\/aa5fed","journal-title":"Supercond Sci Technol"},{"key":"2410_CR9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.7759\/cureus.96615","volume":"17","author":"MM Alenezi","year":"2025","unstructured":"Alenezi MM, Alqahtani S, Alqahtani H et al (2025) A narrative review of advancements in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technology: evaluating the shift from helium-cooled to helium-free systems. Cureus 17:e96615. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.7759\/cureus.96615","journal-title":"Cureus"},{"key":"2410_CR10","unstructured":"Calvert S (2026) MAGNETOM Free.Max: from concept to product, a brief history of the drycool magnet development. Viewed August 19, 2026. https:\/\/marketing.webassets.siemens-healthineers.com\/36a7abdaf894726e\/298eb8ad09ef\/siemens-healthineers_DI_MR_DryCool-technology_paper_history-manget-development.pdf"},{"key":"2410_CR11","unstructured":"Taylor D (2026) Cryogen-Free MRI for preclinical research. https:\/\/www.radiologytoday.net\/archive\/WebEx1017.shtml Viewed August 19"},{"key":"2410_CR12","unstructured":"Annesley C (2026) Helium-free MRI scanners: all change? Viewed August 19, 2026. https:\/\/www.gasworld.com\/feature\/helium-free-mri-scanners-all-change\/2120985.article\/"},{"key":"2410_CR13","unstructured":"Anon (2026) MRS Dry Mag Preclinical MRI Systems. Viewed August 19, 2026. https:\/\/www.axt.com.au\/products\/cryogen-free-high-field-preclinical-mri-systems"},{"key":"2410_CR14","unstructured":"Anon (2026) Liquid Helium in MRI machines\u2014price, use, and more. Viewed August 19, 2026. https:\/\/directmedimaging.com\/liquid-helium-in-mri-machine"}],"container-title":["Insights into Imaging"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/content\/pdf\/10.1186\/s13244-026-02410-5.pdf","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/article\/10.1186\/s13244-026-02410-5","content-type":"text\/html","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/content\/pdf\/10.1186\/s13244-026-02410-5.pdf","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,29]],"date-time":"2026-09-29T12:41:05Z","timestamp":1790685665000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/10.1186\/s13244-026-02410-5"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,29]]},"references-count":14,"journal-issue":{"issue":"1","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,12]]}},"alternative-id":["2410"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1186\/s13244-026-02410-5","relation":{},"ISSN":["1869-4101"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1869-4101","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,29]]},"assertion":[{"value":"21 April 2026","order":1,"name":"received","label":"Received","group":{"name":"ArticleHistory","label":"Article History"}},{"value":"2 July 2026","order":2,"name":"revised","label":"Revised","group":{"name":"ArticleHistory","label":"Article History"}},{"value":"19 August 2026","order":3,"name":"accepted","label":"Accepted","group":{"name":"ArticleHistory","label":"Article History"}},{"value":"29 September 2026","order":4,"name":"first_online","label":"First Online","group":{"name":"ArticleHistory","label":"Article History"}},{"value":"Not applicable.","order":1,"name":"Ethics","label":"Ethics approval and consent to participate","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Declarations"}},{"value":"Not applicable.","order":2,"name":"Ethics","label":"Consent for publication","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Declarations"}},{"value":"The author declares no competing interests.","order":3,"name":"Ethics","label":"Competing interests","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Declarations"}}],"article-number":"238"}}