Siemens has introduced its new 7 Tesla scanner Magnetom Terra, fully designed and manufactured by the company with a 7 Tesla magnet in its core.

“Now, Siemens is the only company to manufacture a complete human ultra-high field MRI system fully in-house,” said Dr Bernd Ohnesorge, chief executive of Magnetic Resonance, Siemens Healthcare. 

The Magnetom Terra 7 Tesla MRI system is designed to translate cutting-edge MRI research results into clinical application, and is the world’s first ultra-high field research system ready for future clinical use with planned CE and FDA authorisation to market for selected neurological and musculoskeletal MR imaging applications. The Dual Mode functionality allows users to switch from cutting-edge research modes to specific clinical protocols in less than ten minutes. The new system provides the whole range of cutting-edge 7 Tesla research functionalities, and is based on the latest software platform syngo MR E11, identical to Siemens’ latest flagship 3 Tesla MRI systems, to enable consistent usability and protocol exchange.

Magnetom Terra’s new actively shielded magnet is the lightest 7 Tesla whole body magnet in the world – 50 per cent lighter than previous actively shielded 7 Tesla magnet generations. This is the result of a multi-year engineering project at Siemens Magnet Technologies in Oxford, capitalising on the long-term experience of the team in the design and manufacturing of state-of-the-art 3 Tesla magnets for clinical use. As a result, with Magnetom Terra, siting of a 7 Tesla MRI system becomes much easier and its location in a clinical environment becomes feasible. Combined with the Zero Helium boil-off technology, Magnetom Terra improves the lifecycle costs of ultra-high field MRI.

Magnetom Terra increases the potential for translating cutting-edge research capabilities into future clinical application – for anatomical, functional or metabolic MR imaging. This specially designed 7 Tesla technology makes this possible by offering:

• Up to eight channel parallel transmit technology for selective excitation and higher homogeneity in challenging body regions such as cardiac and abdominal.

• Up to 64 receive channels for higher coil density in the field of view to achieve higher acceleration factors, higher signal-to-noise ratio and higher spatial resolution, and a better coverage of the body regions of interest.

• High gradient strength of up to 80 millitesla per meter (mT/m) and a fast gradient switching rate of up to 200 Tesla per meter per second (T/m/s) for advanced studies with diffusion and functional MR imaging.

• The latest Siemens software platform syngo MR E11 identical to Siemens’ latest flagship 3 Tesla MRI systems such as Magnetom Skyra and Magnetom Prisma.

For specific clinical areas, Magnetom Terra is prepared for future clinical use with planned CE and FDA authorisation to market of the system and the corresponding local coils:

• Getting better insights into the musculoskeletal system through unprecedented high isotropic spatial resolution of 0.2 mm.

• Imaging brain tumors and irregularities in the brain’s metabolic processes.

• Visualising neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, epilepsy, schizophrenia and multiple sclerosis.

“Based on our long-standing experience and the largest innovation network in human ultra-high field MRI, Siemens is committed to further grow the footprint of 7 Tesla MRI in research and clinical application”, explained Dr. Bernd Ohnesorge. “I am confident that our Magnetom Terra will help explore new territories in MRI research and at the same time it’s the world’s first 7 Tesla scanner designed for clinical use.”