Offers a range of basic clinical applications including whole body, neurological and orthopedic, cardiac and vascular

Phi Health has introduced Memex, a proprietary high-performance 1.5T MRI system, at the RSNA 2009 Annual Meeting in Chicago, IL.

Memex is a MRI system with performance superior to existing 1.5T MRI’s, and 3T MRI’s when imaging dynamic structures, such as the heart and vascular system. Memex achieves this performance with proprietary operating system software.

The Memex 1.5T system offers a range of basic clinical applications including whole body, neurological and orthopedic, cardiac and vascular.

Phi is currently developing technology that will enable Memex to non-invasively scan coronary arteries and produce images of the complete coronary tree that equals the resolution of coronary angiography.

Bert Davis, CEO of Phi, said: “Memex is the first example of Phi’s vision to bring the ‘technology-sector paradigm’ to healthcare the idea that advances in technology bring better performance at lower cost just like the computers and cell phones we use today cost less and do more than they did 10 years ago. This has rarely been the case with healthcare technology.

“This capability is the ‘Holy Grail’ for any non-invasive imaging modality and will revolutionise the diagnosis of coronary artery disease. We are taking MR imaging to a new level. The result is a MR capability with pricing that is a fraction of the cost of systems offered by existing vendors, providing a real solution to runaway healthcare costs.”

Suresh Reddy, chief technical officer of Phi, said: “MR imaging systems do not have to be expensive to provide state-of-the-art imaging performance. Phi believes there should be a standard MRI system with leading-edge performance at an affordable price.”