Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is based on the magnetic resonance phenomenon, and is used for medical diagnostic imaging since ca. 1977 (see also MRI History).
The first developed MRI devices were constructed as long narrow tunnels. In the meantime the magnets became shorter and wider. In addition to this short bore magnet design, open MRI machines were created. MRI machines with open design have commonly either horizontal or vertical opposite installed magnets and obtain more space and air around the patient during the MRI test.
The basic hardware components of all MRI systems are the magnet, producing a stable and very intense magnetic field, the gradient coils, creating a variable field and radio frequency (RF) coils which are used to transmit energy and to encode spatial positioning. A computer controls the MRI scanning operation and processes the information.
The range of used field strengths for medical imaging is from 0.15 to 3 T. The open MRI magnets have usually field strength in the range 0.2 Tesla to 0.35 Tesla. The higher field MRI devices are commonly solenoid with short bore superconducting magnets, which provide homogeneous fields of high stability.
There are this different types of magnets:
The majority of superconductive magnets are based on niobium-titanium (NbTi) alloys, which are very reliable and require extremely uniform fields and extreme stability over time, but require a liquid helium cryogenic system to keep the conductors at approximately 4.2 Kelvin (-268.8° Celsius). To maintain this temperature the magnet is enclosed and cooled by a cryogen containing liquid helium (sometimes also nitrogen).
The gradient coils are required to produce a linear variation in field along one direction, and to have high efficiency, low inductance and low resistance, in order to minimize the current requirements and heat deposition. A Maxwell coil usually produces linear variation in field along the z-axis; in the other two axes it is best done using a saddle coil, such as the Golay coil.
The radio frequency coils used to excite the nuclei fall into two main categories; surface coils and volume coils. The essential element for spatial encoding, the gradient coil sub-system of the MRI scanner is responsible for the encoding of specialized contrast such as flow information, diffusion information, and modulation of magnetization for spatial tagging.
An analog to digital converter turns the nuclear magnetic resonance signal to a digital signal. The digital signal is then sent to an image processor for Fourier transformation and the image of the MRI scan is displayed on a monitor.

For Ultrasound Imaging (USI) see Ultrasound Machine at Medical-Ultrasound-Imaging.com.

See also the related poll results: 'In 2010 your scanner will probably work with a field strength of' and 'Most outages of your scanning system are caused by failure of'

(G) An older unit of flux density. The currently preferred SI unit is the tesla (T).
Definition: 1 gauss is defined as 1 line of flux per cm². The Earth's magnetic field is approximately one half gauss to one gauss, depending on location. For the large magnetic fields used by MRI, the unit gauss (G) has been replaced by the more practical unit tesla (T), where 1 T = 10 000 G.

From Siemens Medical Systems; Received FDA clearance in 2013.
The MAGNETOM Prisma is the 3T PowerPack for exploration that offers most demanding clinical and research challenges of today and the future. The latest parallel transmit technology, TimTX TrueShape, enables zooming into specific body regions for enhanced image quality. Furthermore, the Tim 4G integrated coil technology offers remarkable imaging flexibility and supports complex examinations across the whole body.
Onsite upgrades to the MAGNETOM Prisma for customers who have already installed the 3 Tesla MAGNETOM Trio are possible.

From Siemens Medical Systems; Received FDA clearance in 2010.
MAGNETOM Skyra is a top-of-the-line, patient friendly wide bore 3 Tesla MRI system.
The system is equipped with the Tim 4G and Dot system (Total imaging matrix and Day optimizing throughput), to enhance both productivity and image quality with the complete range of advanced applications for clinical routine and research. Tim 4G features lighter, trimmer MRI coils that take up less space inside the magnet but deliver a high coil element density with increased signal to noise ratio and the possibility to use high iPAT factors.

From Siemens Medical Systems;
Received FDA clearance in 2012.
The MAGNETOM Spectra is a cost-optimized high field MRI system with Tim 4G and Dot technologies. The system consumes less energy compared to other 3 Tesla scanners. The magnet-cooling helium is contained in a closed loop, which prevents the gas from escaping and reduces the need for refills. TimTX includes innovative techniques in the radio frequency excitation hardware as well as new application and processing features enabling uniform RF distribution in all body regions.