[Intl_DxMedPhys] MRI Annual Coil Testing by Philips FSE

[Christina Brunnquell]

Hi all,

Following up on this thread, I have a question for those who regularly use
Siemens coil testing tools.

I was trying out the vendor coil testing tools on a Siemens
system yesterday (under Customer QA) which I haven't previously used much.
Running the test was easy as can be, but I was unable to find the service
patient images to do further analysis (ideally manually measuring
uniformity and ghosting on the volume coils, as Bob mentioned). Does anyone
have tips for accessing these images? I know they exist on the system
somewhere...

The system I was on is running XA software. I had access to a service
password and could log into local service -- not sure which level, but it
was high enough to run Phantom Shim Check. From a past chat with a service
engineer, I was under the impression that if I logged into local service I
should be able to see the service patient in the patient browser with
images from the coil test, but upon logging in I still did not see service
patient images in the browser.

Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!
Christina

On Wed, Dec 3, 2025 at 10:05 AM Bob Kobistek via Intl_dxmedphys_wd_osu_list
<intl_dxmedphys_wd_osu_list at lists.osu.edu> wrote:

> Philips’ test tools provide an extensive list of data – much more than I
> can do by drawing ROI’s. See a sample attached. Robert J. Kobistek, MS,
> FACR, DABR, MRSE(MRSC™) Medical Physicist RJK Medical Physics, Inc.
> 440-463-7879 From: Intl_dxmedphys_wd_osu_list
>
> Philips’ test tools provide an extensive list of data – much more than I
> can do by drawing ROI’s.  See a sample attached.
>
>
>
>
>
> Robert J. Kobistek, MS, FACR, DABR, MRSE(MRSC™)
>
> Medical Physicist
>
> RJK Medical Physics, Inc.
>
> 440-463-7879
>
>
>
> *From:* Intl_dxmedphys_wd_osu_list <
> intl_dxmedphys_wd_osu_list-bounces at lists.osu.edu> *On Behalf Of *Matthew
> Hoerner via Intl_dxmedphys_wd_osu_list
> *Sent:* Tuesday, December 2, 2025 8:30 PM
> *To:* Bob Bell <bell3660 at sbcglobal.net>
> *Cc:* intl_dxmedphys_wd_osu_list at lists.osu.edu
> *Subject:* Re: [Intl_DxMedPhys] MRI Annual Coil Testing by Philips FSE
>
>
>
> Siemens has an option where running a clinical protocol you can check a
> box that saves all uncombined images. It basically an image from each coil
> channel. They also make a combine image using sum of squares so you can get
> a lot out of it. I
>
> Siemens has an option where running a clinical protocol you can check a
> box that saves all uncombined images.  It basically an image from each coil
> channel.  They also make a combine image using sum of squares so you can
> get a lot out of it.  I would see if Philips has that option. Might be a
> Hail Mary.
>
>
>
> Matthew Hoerner
>
> Yale New Haven Hospital
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> On Dec 2, 2025, at 8:09 PM, Bob Bell via Intl_dxmedphys_wd_osu_list <
> intl_dxmedphys_wd_osu_list at lists.osu.edu> wrote:
>
> 
>
> 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
>
> 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 Bell
>
> 760-579-3929
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> 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 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
>
> 914-493-1410
>
>
>
>
>
>
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