MR Cooling Farm Expansion

Liquid Helium filled (“cold”) magnets are typically shipped from an Original Equipment Manufacturing (OEM) facility directly to the hospital via the shortest way, very often with airfreight in order to reduce the helium lost during transit.

However, there are multiple occasions where a cold magnet needs to be temporarily stored such as during a relocation from one facility to another, or if there is a delay in hospital construction.

To give our OEM customers more flexibility and a secure, cost-effective option, we have worked with our partners to develop a state-of-the-art MRI Cooling Farm, often called a Cryo-Farm.

Cryo-Farms have a unique set of requirements to function and operate properly. The magnets are often the size of a car or small SUV and can weigh from 5,000 to over 30,000 lbs. They are fragile giant thermal vessels containing super cold (-452F) liquid helium that requires a specialized cooling system. Keeping the helium cold requires a helium compressor, a 480-volt power supply and a continual supply of chilled water. The equipment must be monitored daily to assure everything is operating within temperature and pressure specifications.

Located in the Chicago O’Hare corridor, an ideal logistics hub for receiving MRI systems from the US or overseas OEMs, our facility has 20 cooling bays in a climate-controlled area for storing highly sensitive medical equipment.

“Our customers need 100% visibility of their inventory and convenient access to ensure the medical equipment is being properly and securely stored,” said James Nestel, CEO of Americas and Asia Pacific for Simon Hegele Healthcare Solutions.

The MR Cooling Farm has an indoor gantry crane assuring your magnet will never be exposed to outside weather conditions and enables the loading and unloading of the magnet in a secure controlled environment. Our facility also has redundant chillers and water circulation pumps to help eliminate downtime. Our staff is trained and very experienced in magnet handling, helium compressor connections, and system monitoring.

“A new, state of the art MRI machine can cost over $3 million,” added Nestel. “The housing for these sophisticated devices costs even more. They are an incredible investment for health care systems and OEMs count on our team to deliver and install MRI systems on time and error free.”

After storing and MRI (or other medical systems such as a CT or X-Ray) the Simon Hegele Healthcare Group can assist with delivery and installation of the system. This includes transportation and delivery with our highly experienced carriers using our specialized trailers. We will coordinate the rigging to move the system into the building including crane, forklift, floor protection and other specialized supplies and lifting equipment when needed. The mechanical Installation includes two certified technicians for four to seven days depending on the scope of work. This will often include system placement, anchoring, cabling and cove application. Magnet ramping and shimming is also available.