Did you know that 25% of all MRI coil failures are related to the coil cable? So, when your MRI system isn’t working properly, that’s a good place to start investigating. If, indeed, the issue is your coil, here are some potential solutions. 
- You can purchase a replacement cable from your OEM. However, a lot of times the replacement cable assemblies are not available. If they can be found, they can be expensive—like $5,000 and up for just once cable! Since many MRIs use multiple cables, this isn’t an affordable solution. So, what next?
- You can try to harvest used cables from defective coils. While this is a more affordable solution, it doesn’t always work because you don’t know how worn the cable is. A cable is designed to flex only a certain number of times before it begins to degrade. How much are you willing to pay for a cable if you don’t know how long it will last?
- Sometimes it’s possible to splice and patch individual wires within a cable assembly. This is usually performed by a third party repair provider. When repairs like these are made, it sometimes leads to failures because in many cases multiple wires are compromised and not just one. And there can be 2-40 individual wires of different gauges and complexities! You could end up with more repairs, additional costs and extensive downtime, which could be avoided if you used a holistic repair process.
- There are engineers that can identify cable and coil problems and repair the entire cable harness and the entire circuit to extend your coils life cycle. Sometimes sending them out for repair to a specialized engineer is your best option.
Talk To An Expert
If you find yourself dealing with an MRI Coil Failure, it’s time to talk to an expert like Atlantis Worldwide. We’ve been helping clients with their medical imaging needs, warranties and service contracts for more than 28 years. While we can’t repair your MRI coils, we might be able to guide you to the right approach or solution. If you’re looking for new medical imaging equipment, you might consider buying a used or refurbished system. You can get the high level of performance you need for a fraction of the cost—without sacrificing service and product warranties. Talk to Atlantis Worldwide today.
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Meet the author: Vikki Harmonay
