AIR a true asset in the land of Kiwis

“The AIR™ Coils are the lightest and most flexible coils available today,” he explains. As a body radiologist specializing in female pelvic imaging, he sees the difference. Traditional body arrays are heavy, rigid and fixed. “Almost crushing for the patient, and that makes it more difficult for them to regulate their breathing,” Dr. Rogers adds. “The patient would breathe very shallow and then gasp for a deep breath. That, in particular, can ruin the quality of abdominal and pelvic imaging.” Now, with AIR™ Coils, the patient breathing and related body movement is more regular, and that has led to better image quality with fewer artifacts. Patients are not complaining about the heavy weight on them, which makes for a much better patient experience too. “We are also seeing superb results in joint imaging with the larger coverage afforded by the AIR™ Coils,” he says. Since the SIGNA™ Architect is in the Ascot Radiology clinic within the AUT Millennium facility, there are many patients who are professional or semi-professional athletes with large forearms and broad shoulders. The larger coverage also impacts abdominal imaging, such as in the commonly used coronal SSFSE sequence. With the AIR™ Anterior Array (AA) Coil, the coverage is from the diaphragm through the pelvis, whereas with traditional abdominal coils the coverage stopped before the pelvis. That makes a difference in the reading of the exam, as Dr. Rogers can now report from one sequence versus two.

“Having these acceleration techniques available gives us the freedom to choose between the same resolution and a faster scan or better resolution at the same exam time,” Dr. Rogers says. “We are getting better imaging per minute from the scanner.” That ability to save time in a routine exam is important, he adds, because then in difficult cases he can spend the extra time acquiring another view or sequence.

“We have a lot of different-sized patients, from very thin runners to the broad and muscular weight lifters,” Nelson says. “These people would sometimes not fit in a traditional hard shell coil. We would waste time trying two to three different coils and the patient might get embarrassed. Now, we can just wrap the AIR™ Coil around their body part or area, and that gives us a more efficient workflow. Plus, the coil is not so confining or scary-looking, so in some cases it helps us coax the patient into the scanner for their exam.”

For example, the technologists will often perform an exam covering the shoulder, clavicle and pectoral area in athletes who are suspected of tearing a muscle in one of these areas.

“I can wrap the AIR™ Coil from the sternum to the arm and get all the information our radiologists need without losing signal or hurting the patient,” Nelson explains. “I don’t have to use two coils. Or, if I’m scanning the shoulder, I can image from the tip of the scapula right down to the midline of the clavicle.” The AIR™ Coil is also used for smaller FOV sternoclavicular joint imaging.

She has the same experience imaging the hips and female pelvis. Nelson will use both the embedded AIR™ Posterior Array (PA) Coil in the table and then wrap the AIR™ AA Coil on top of the patient without moving them.
“It’s good for workflow and the patient, and the images are beautiful. There is no image fallout on the sides, given the large surface area we are scanning,” Nelson adds. The largest coverage and FOV that Nelson has imaged so far is a full femur of a patient who tore their hamstring muscles. She scanned from the crest of the pelvis all the way to the knee — something she could not do with traditional coils and get the necessary coverage.

Several of the newer sequences in SIGNA™Works are also making an impact on the technologist’s workflow and imaging from the SIGNA™ Architect. Nelson can easily change a sequence to PROPELLER MB if a patient is moving, which she says is amazing an improves workflow. When using the FSE Flex sequence in more challenging areas, she doesn’t lose resolution when compared with FSE FatSat acquisitions. Yet, it’s the AIR™ Coils that are life changing.