From Hitachi Medical Systems America Inc.;
Hitachi expanded its portfolio with the Echelon™ 1.5T. The MRI scanner combines a compact magnet and a scalable 8-channel RF system with high-performance gradients and slew rate to select short echo times, small field of views, high matrices and thin slices. Standard features of the Echelon MRI system include higher-order active shim, RAPID (parallel imaging for use on brain MRI, body, cardiovascular imaging, and orthopedic coils), multiple coil ports, and an advanced reconstruction engine.

From ONI Medical Systems, Inc.;
MSK-Extremeâ„¢MRI system is a dedicated high field extremity imaging device, designed to provide orthopedic surgeons and other physicians with detailed diagnostic images of the foot, ankle, knee, hand, wrist and elbow, all with the clinical confidence and advantages derived from high field, whole body MRI units. The light weight (less than 650 kg) of the OrthOne System performs rapid patient studies, is easy to operate, has a patient friendly open environment and can be installed in a practice office or hospital, all at a cost similar to a low field extremity machine.
New features include a more powerful operating system that offers increased scan speed as well as a 160-mm knee coil with higher signal to noise ratio, and the option of a CD burner.

From Toshiba America Medical Systems Inc.;
the EXCELART is a superconducting whole body MRI system with a short wide-bore magnet, operating at 1.5 T. It features powerful high-speed gradients with a revolutionary gradient acoustic noise reduction system: Pianissimo. The dramatic reduction of gradient acoustic noise by Pianissimo greatly enhances patient comfort during exams. The standard array platform and a wide range of array coils ensure excellent images. A powerful 64-bit RISC-based computer system and newly developed array processor realize high productivity.

From Toshiba America Medical Systems Inc.;
OPART™ is a 0.35 T superconducting open MR system featuring cryogenless operation. Superconducting speed and performance are combined with the patient access advantages of open MRI design for unmatched clinical versatility. OPART™ features innovative technologies such as digital RF, high speed gradients and optimized RF coils, which support advanced MRI applications.

Manufactured by Esaote S.p.A.;
a low field open MRI scanner with permanent magnet for orthopedic use. The outstanding feature of this MRI system is a patient friendly design with 24 cm diameter, which allows the imaging of extremities and small body parts like shoulder MRI. The power consumption is around 1.3 kW and the needed minimum floor space is an area of 16 sq m.
At RSNA 2006 Hologic Inc. introduced a new dedicated extremity MRI scanner, the Opera. Manufactured by Esaote is the Opera a redesign of Esaote's 0.2 Tesla E-Scan XQ platform, which now enables complete imaging of all extremities, including hip and shoulder applications. 'Real-time positioning' reportedly speeds patient setup and reduces exam times.
Esaote North America and Hologic Inc are the U.S. distributors of this MRI device.