[Intl_DxMedPhys] MRI Annual Coil Testing by Philips FSE

[Hardy, Peter A.]

Hi

I don't have any experience with Philips. From Siemens we have been able to use their proprietary tests for coil performance without a password or involvement of Siemens FSE. For other tests such as field homogeneity, we do need a service password and they can usually give us one that lasts 7 days.

Peter Hardy, PhD, DABMP
Associate Professor of Radiology, Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering
Faculty, Division of Diagnostic & Nuclear Medical Physics
Department of Radiology
University of Kentucky College of Medicine
UK HealthCare
800 Rose Street, Room HX-307
Lexington, KY 40536-0293
Phone: (859) 323-2954
Email: peter.hardy at uky.edu<mailto:peter.hardy at uky.edu>


From: Intl_dxmedphys_wd_osu_list <intl_dxmedphys_wd_osu_list-bounces+peter.hardy=uky.edu at lists.osu.edu> On Behalf Of High, Maynard via Intl_dxmedphys_wd_osu_list
Sent: Tuesday, December 2, 2025 3:44 PM
To: intl_dxmedphys_wd_osu_list at lists.osu.edu
Subject: [Intl_DxMedPhys] MRI Annual Coil Testing by Philips FSE

CAUTION: External Sender

For at least the past 15 years I have had Philips FSE's annually perform the Philips coil test for every coil using the Philips provided phantoms with the Philips service software. These coil tests can only be run by FSE with a proprietary
For at least the past 15 years I have had Philips FSE's annually  perform the Philips coil test for every coil using the Philips provided phantoms with the Philips service software. These coil tests can only be run by FSE with a proprietary dongle key.  These Philips tests  provide me with a SNR measurement for each coil element along with  the Philips SNR spec for each element. I find this very useful to identify elements with unacceptably low SNR before noticing any obvious decrease in image quality on the ACR Phantom. In addition, if any element is below the Philips spec, the test reports a blaring red FAIL which Philips will act on and replace the coil with no arguments.
We have the highest level service contract and these tests were always performed under the service contract with no extra charge (except for after hours overtime).
Now Philips claims we need to pay extra for this service and is charging us $2280 for one scanner (which extrapolates to $13680/ year for our six scanners).


  *   What is the experience of other sites with Philips MR's?
  *   Anybody have any documentation (from Users or Service Manuals) stating that Philips recommends annual coil testing as part of the manufacturer's PM's?


Maynard High
Westchester Medical Center / NYMC
maynard.high at wmchealth.org<mailto:maynard.high at wmchealth.org>
914-493-1410


-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://lists.osu.edu/mailman/private/intl_dxmedphys_wd_osu_list/attachments/20251202/8870b11d/attachment.html>