Dear Markus,
This all depends on your intended usage pattern. I have been going
through some of this thinking recently. Here is what I've arrived at
so far.
The Verio looks like a nice machine. The arguments in favor of the
Verio are that the magnet is smaller and lighter which makes it much
easier to site, and that the bore is bigger which makes it more
useable for obese patients (up to 250 kg, yikes!). Gradients are
always Siemens' strength, the brochure says that the Verio can do 45mT/
m @ 200mT/m/s, but I don't know if that is on each channel or
combined. That would be one of the key questions to ask.
From a pure research perspective, and if cost is not too much of a
limiting factor, the Trio seems better to me at the moment. You can
get 128 channels if you want to do crazy body imaging. More
interestingly, if you're doing just brain, there is a head gradient
insert research device for the Trio that has amazing performance Gmax
= 80mT/m, Slew Rate Max = 800 mT/m/ms, as opposed to the standard body
gradient set that does Gmax = 45 mT/m, Slew Rate Max = 200 T/m/s on
each channel. But then you're in the business of making your own
coils or buying third party ones since you've taken the body coil and
the 32-channel head coil out of the equation.
It's not clear from the outside what Siemens is intending to do with
the Trio long-term. They are trying to move their magnets to the zero
boiloff kind (like the Verio), so it could be that the Trio is going
to eventually die. Or it could be that the Trio is going to be their
bruiser research machine and the Verio is the more clinical "cost-
effective" solution.
I still have a lot of questions and I'll be chatting with Siemens
people some more over the coming months and at ISMRM. I'm curious to
see what decision you arrive to your site.
Cheers,
Souheil
On Feb 27, 2008, at 8:54 AM, Markus Gschwind wrote:
> Hi!
>
> As we are currently in the discussion of choosing a new MRI Scanner,
> I wonder if there is anybody who has made some experience or has
> some arguments in favour or against the new Siemens VERIO 3T.
>
> We already have a TrioTim and now must choose between a second
> TrioTim or a Verio. We will use it for research only (also in
> patients).
>
> Any recomendations are greatly appreciated!
>
> Markus
>
> --
>
> Dr. med. Markus Gschwind, M.D.
> Laboratory for Neurology and Imaging of Cognition
> Dept of Neurosciences
> University Medical Center (CMU)
> 1 Michel-Servet - 1211 GENEVA - CH
>
> Tel 0041 (0) 22 379 5324
> Fax 0041 (0) 22 379 5402
> email: [log in to unmask]
> http://labnic.unige.ch
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