Florence Magnet for Success for GE Healthcare
Published Oct 17, 2007
All of the super-conducting magnets that are used by General Electric in its MRI machines are engineered and manufactured in Florence.
GE Healthcare here produces 800 to 1,000 powerful magnets each year for MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scanners that are used in radiology departments within hospitals all over the world. The high-powered primary magnet is the most important component of every MRI machine.
“The super-conducting magnets are probably the part of an MRI system that patients are most familiar with,” says David Ferguson, GE Healthcare general manager of core products for the company’s global MRI business based in Milwaukee. “The magnet is basically the long cylinder that a patient will lay inside when they undergo their examination for head trauma, broken bones, sprains, heart conditions and dozens of other medical circumstances.”
Until recently, General Electric has been the only MRI producer in the world that manufactures its own magnets.
“GE has always been vertically integrated when it comes to designing, engineering and manufacturing every aspect of our MRI systems,” Ferguson says. “This has resulted in some of the most advanced technology known to medical radiological science.”
GE Healthcare in Florence produces two primary magnets – a 1.5T model and a 3T model – which are the benchmarks of magnetic resonance systems worldwide. These magnets help to make two-dimensional or three-dimensional images that radiology technicians read via computer.
The Florence facility is a converted radio factory that was used during World War II. “The plant has obviously been significantly modernized and is a critical part of our health-care business,” Ferguson says.
“The GE Healthcare facility has also become a nice contributor to the Florence economy.”
Story by Kevin Litwin
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