By Joseph Sam

If you’re hosting a child’s birthday party any time soon, expect the price of helium balloons to be higher than the last time you might have bought them. That is, if you can even get them. Helium is scarce and has been for some time - the world’s supply of it has been diminishing for many years. Unfortunately, it’s not a renewable resource, so once it’s gone, it will be gone for good. Pricing and availability are starting to reflect that. At the last U.S. auction, helium’s price rose 135 percent due to its limited availability.

Of course, this doesn’t just affect party balloons. Healthcare uses a substantial amount of helium. Standard MRI scanners require around 1,700 liters of liquid helium to keep their cooling systems healthy by surrounding the superconducting magnet, coils, and wires within them. Because of the high amount of energy used by these machines, the conducting materials need to be near zero degrees for them to work properly without overheating. Liquid helium reaches temperatures of -452 degrees Fahrenheit, making it an ideal solution for keeping the system cool. Maintaining a healthy cooling system is essential to the performance of the MRI’s scanning magnet and helps avoid unnecessary helium loss.

The cost of downtime
On average, MRI machines are down for regular maintenance between 35-40 hours per year. During that time, hospitals can lose up to $35,000 per day that a machine is down. So, when an unexpected maintenance need occurs, its impact is significant, particularly when adding in patient throughput loss and employee salaries. Of course, the biggest concern with downtime is that it hampers healthcare providers’ ability to make important diagnoses.

If helium levels get too low, failure with the MRI cooling system can cause an unplanned quench. During a quench, the superconducting magnet coils get too hot, the helium boils off, the magnetic field is lost, and the MRI shuts down. During the boiling process, the liquid helium turns into gas and leaks into the room, requiring the room to be evacuated. Helium gas can be dangerous as it displaces oxygen. It can also lead to hypothermia due to its cold temperature. Once the room is ventilated and safe after a quench, a proper inspection and servicing of the MRI machine will need to be done. An unplanned MRI quench can be very expensive, but regular maintenance and checkups on the machine will help avoid this.

Additionally, with the diminishing supply of helium, shortages from vendors can occur, creating another potential cause for downtime. Rush ordering product due to unprepared supply can add thousands of extra dollars to the maintenance cost.

The lesson in all this? Practicing regularly scheduled MRI maintenance is essential.

The importance of being proactive
Although the image quality might falter, an MRI scanner can continue working even when the helium levels drop below the recommended level. A working MRI scanner might imply that all is well, even though the actual levels might reveal a warning sign.

While imaging engineers aren’t responsible for refilling helium supplies in MRI systems themselves, they typically schedule a helium fill with their provider when they see levels drop to a certain point. Being proactive and doing at least a quarterly maintenance check-up will confirm that everything is working properly and that the helium levels are where they should be. The more you use your MRI machine, the more often it should be inspected, even if it seems to be working fine. Checking the magnet health and helium levels on a typical MRI machine takes about four hours to do and is worth the cost of that short downtime.

It may seem obvious, but scheduling helium fills well in advance will keep the machine running without any unexpected downtime due to low helium. Because of the overall shortage of the world’s supply of helium, you can never know what position your supplier will be in. Scheduling early gives you some flexibility with time so that you don’t have to place an expensive rush order with another vendor, or worse, run out entirely. Being proactive about your equipment also shows management that you have the best interest for the organization and your patients.

Beyond the helium levels, look for any ice or condensation as these are signs of something not working properly. Check the compressor and magnet pressure, and if the pressure is too high or low take additional steps to understand why. Anything that seems out of the ordinary should be further explored or reported to help avoid unexpected issues.

The purchase and installation of an MRI machine is an expensive investment. That, coupled with the earth’s diminishing supply of helium, make the prioritization of maintenance essential. Having a machine break down, or worse, needing to be replaced due to a lack of maintenance is an unfortunate circumstance that can be avoided with proactive monitoring and maintenance.


About the author: Joseph Sam is an imaging support engineer and trainer for Technical Prospects. He has 15 years of field service and support experience in the Diagnostic Imaging industry. With a background in United States Navy electronics, his attention to detail is evident. He specializes in Siemens MRI/CT with extensive knowledge in multivendor systems as well. Joe has provided onsite service and support for customers throughout the United States. Throughout his career, he has provided colleagues with on the job training and system support.