Hitachi Airis II vs Airis Elite: How do you choose?

Several hospitals around the world are choosing to go with the open MRI for several reasons – it makes patients more comfortable as it decreases the feeling of claustrophobia and panic attacks, it allows for increased patient scan volume, and it is easier to place critical body parts directly under the magnet.

But there is a gamut of secondary market MRIs to choose from, all bringing with them their own set of advantages and disadvantages.

Let’s compare two from Hitachi – the Hitachi Airis II and the Hitachi Elite – both of which are popular open MRIs.

Characteristic	Hitachi Airis II	Hitachi Airis Elite
Speed	Slower	Faster than Airis II
Coils	Most of the Airis II systems in the secondary market have only two array coils and upgrading can be expensive. It is difficult to find an Airis II with phased array coils	Comes equipped with a complement of multiple array coils and the corresponding software. This gives much clearer scan quality
Fat separation	Fat “Saturation” essentially separates fat from the rest of the patient’s tissue for more image clarity, which the Airis II does well	You have a Fat “Separation” option, which gives a more “true” picture of the body part being imaged, minus the fat; this makes the image even more clear
Reliability	Consistent and durable	Consistent and durable
Power consumption	3kW	2.5kW

Hitachi Airis II is still among the most popular open MRIs in the secondary market and meets a variety of imaging needs. Airis Elite does the same though it brings additional clarity to the table though.

Here are a few features of both:

• .3T field strength with eddy current free magnet
• Non-claustrophobic open gantry with 210 degrees open at the front and 70 degrees at the rear
• Gradient field of 15mT/m and slew rate of 30 T/m/s
• Fully motorised patient table
• Complete range of all applications, including MRA (PC & TOF), CE MRA, EPI/DWI, MRCP, etc

While the Hitachi Airis II has a low power consumption of 3kW, the Elite goes even lower to 2.5kW.

How do you decide?

If it all boils down to the budget, then the Airis II may be a good choice. If it is extra clarity you seek and you have the budget for it, then the Elite should be considered.

Blue Star E&E offers both the Hitachi Airis II and the Hitachi Elite and our engineers can help you choose the right one for your hospital. We are fully committed to delivering a world-class customer experience and have been in the industry for more than three decades. Do get in touch with our experts for any queries on our product portfolio.