GE, Varian to develop pre-clinical 7T MRI system

GE Healthcare and Varian will begin a collaboration to develop a new pre-clinical 7T MRI system. 

Under the agreement, GE said that the initial development and integration will be a joint effort between the two companies. Once development is complete, the Palo Alto, Calif.-based Varian will offer customers a fully integrated 7T System combining GE’s electronics, user interface, pulse-sequences and applications with the magnet, gradients, positioning devices and RF coils provided by Varian.

In research, GE said that potential applications for a preclinical system includes investigation of new contrast mechanisms and agents, monitoring gene expression, analysis of protein interactions and determination of pharmacokinetics.