From ISOL Technology

'MRI system is not an expensive equipment anymore. ENCORE developed by ISOL Technology is a low cost MRI system with the advantages like of the 1.0T MRI scanner. Developed specially for the overseas market, the ENCORE is gaining popularity in the domestic market by medium sized hospitals.
Due to the optimum RF and Gradient application technology. ENCORE enables to obtain high resolution imaging and 2D/3D Angio images which was only possible in high field MR systems.'
- Less consumption of the helium gas due to the ultra-lightweight magnet specially designed and manufactured for ISOL. - Cost efficiency MR system due to air cooling type (equivalent to permanent magnetic). - Patient processing speed of less than 20 minutes.'

The Esaote Group, founded in the 1980's, is a global leader in research, production, and marketing of medical diagnostic equipment and related services. Esaote offers integrated diagnostic solutions for ultrasound electromedical diagnostic systems, and MRI. The Esaote MR equipment is dedicated for specific clinical applications, as distinguished from conventional whole body MRI systems. This MRI product family is based on a unique, proprietary technology developed specifically for musculoskeletal imaging.
The Italian based company is a member of the Bracco Group.
Esaote North America is the exclusive U.S. distributor of MRI devices manufactured by Esaote.

MRI Scanners:

0.2T to 0.31T:
Vet-MR (Based on the E Scan XQ, dedicated to the veterinarian practice.)

(FIESTA) The fast imaging employing steady state acquisition sequence provides images of fluid filled structures with very short acquisition times. The FIESTA sequence uses the T2 steady state contrast mechanism to provide high SNR images with strong signal from fluid tissues while suppressing background tissue for contrast and anatomic detail of small structures. In addition, the ultra short TR and TE enable extremely short acquisition times - shorter than FSE - and the images can be post processed using MIP, volume rendering, or 3D navigator techniques.

See Steady State Free Precession.

(TrueFISP) True fast imaging with steady state precession is a coherent technique that uses a fully balanced gradient waveform. The image contrast with TrueFISP is determined by T2*//T1 properties and mostly depending on TR. The speed and relative motion insensitivity of acquisition help to make the technique reliable, even in patients who have difficulty with holding their breath.
Recent advances in gradient hardware have led to a decreased minimum TR. This combined with improved field shimming capabilities and signal to noise ratio, has allowed TrueFISP imaging to become practical for whole-body applications. There's mostly T2* weighting. With the used ultrashort TR-times T1 weighting is almost impossible. One such application is cardiac cine MR with high myocardium-blood contrast. Spatial and temporal resolution can be substantially improved with this technique, but contrast on the basis of the ratio of T2* to T1 is not sufficiently high in soft tissues. By providing T1 contrast, TrueFISP could then document the enhancement effects of T1 shortening contrast agents. These properties are useful for the anatomical delineation of brain tumors and normal structures. With an increase in SNR ratio with minimum TR, TrueFISP could also depict the enhancement effect in myoma uteri. True FSIP is a technique that is well suited for cardiac MR imaging. The imaging time is shorter and the contrast between the blood and myocardium is higher than that of FLASH.

See Steady State Free Precession.

(FSPGR) A sequence similar to TurboFLASH or Turbo Field Echo.

See also Spoiled Gradient Echo Sequence and Ultrafast Gradient Echo Sequence.