[Intl_DxMedPhys] MRI Annual Coil Testing by Philips FSE

[Bob Bell]

 Hi All,
Having vendor service conduct specialty coil testing is acceptable as long as the medical physicist or MR scientist authoring the annual report is physically present during testing.  One can't simply insert the most recent vendor coil report to meet ACR testing requirements.  
Remember, volume coils require not only SNR and artifact analysis but also IIU and ghosting values.  Make sure vendor methods address all these requirements.  ACR recommends including the TR for each coil in your reports as these values from year to year can help to evaluate coil performance.  Finally, ACR requires us to document the phantom and method used.  Often a picture of phantom setup in your report is very helpful if someone else wishes to duplicate the testing.
I strongly encourage all qualified medical physicists and MR scientists to personally conduct all coil testing, whether they use vendor methods or methods of their own design.  Would you want someone to claim they could test your car if they couldn't drive it?  
Best of the holidays,
Bob Bell760-579-3929


    On Tuesday, December 2, 2025 at 01:14:59 PM PST, Hardy, Peter A. via Intl_dxmedphys_wd_osu_list <intl_dxmedphys_wd_osu_list at lists.osu.edu> wrote:  
 
 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
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
 
  
 
  
 
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 redFAIL 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
 
914-493-1410
 
 
 
 
   
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://lists.osu.edu/mailman/private/intl_dxmedphys_wd_osu_list/attachments/20251203/8cd0a0b7/attachment.html>