SIEMENS

In 1946 Felix Bloch discovered nuclear magnetic resonance, a discovery that transformed the field of chemical analysis and earned him the Nobel prize in Physics in 1952. But it was not until the late 1970s that Bloch's discovery percolated into the field of medical diagnostics, eventually evolving into the remarkable technology we know today as magnetic resonance imaging.

Today, Bloch looks down with his penetrating gaze from a picture on the third floor of an office building on the edge of the southern Chinese industrial city of Shenzhen, watching over the work of his “descendants” in science. The headquarters of Siemens Mindit Magnetic Resonance Ltd. (SMMR) is home to some of the most recent diagnostic imaging technology, whose development was first made possible by the principles identified by Bloch some six and a half decades earlier.

MRI scanners, which are among the most expensive pieces of equipment found in modern hospitals, enable doctors to produce sharp images, especially of soft tissues without radiation. But thanks to the global Siemens development network in Erlangen, Germany, Oxford, United Kingdom, and Shenzhen, China, even institutions with relatively restricted budgets can now afford magnetic resonance imaging technology.

MAGNETOM ESSENZA, a typical S.M.A.R.T. (simple, maintenance-friendly, affordable, reliable, and timely-to-market) product that offers an alternative to high-end systems without compromising product quality, has been built at the Shenzhen plant since 2008. Siemens develops such products for emerging markets, but they also have great potential for success on the global market. (see article "Let the Revolution Begin!" and Pictures of the Future, Spring 2009, S.M.A.R.T.).

“Our magnetic resonance scanner has become a remarkably successful product in a very short time,” says Pan Huaiyu, President and CEO of SMMR. “We succeeded in doubling unit sales even during the recent recession, which shows how timely this machine is.” The scanner was co-developed in China and Germany and is manufactured in China. But it isn't just in developing countries and emerging markets such as China that healthcare is facing cost pressures. Of the close to 500 magnetic resonance scanners produced by the Shenzhen plant so far, roughly 80 % have been exported, with most going to Asian countries, but many going to Europe and North and South America.

SMMR was founded in 1998 by a group of Chinese scientists who had obtained their doctorates in the U.S. and Europe and then decided to work on MRI systems for the Chinese market. They developed an entry-level model, but since they lacked the know-how for more sophisticated systems, they joined forces with Siemens in 2002. Siemens acquired a 75 % stake in the startup. At the time, the company had approximately 90 employees; today it has roughly 500, half of whom work in production, while 150 engineers work in development. So far SMMR has submitted around 200 patent applications for innovations related to such things as control systems and magnet technology.

In the joint venture's early days only MRI scanners with permanent magnets were manufactured in Shenzhen, and they remain a part of the product lineup today. One example is the Magnetom C!, 100 to 150 units of which are produced annually. As this model does not need liquid helium, it is very attractive for small hospitals in rural areas. The Magnetom C! uses permanent magnet blocks to generate its magnetic field, which provides a relatively moderate magnetic flux density of 0.35 T.

International Development. By comparison, MRI scanners in the upper market segment use superconducting coils to generate their magnetic fields. Such coils are more powerful and lighter, but require liquid helium for cooling. But it is precisely in this area that SMMR has been making a name for itself as an innovation hotbed since 2008, thanks to what is still a unique development collaboration. The Shenzhen team worked closely with Siemens Healthcare sites in Erlangen and Oxford on the development of the scanner, the most economical system ever in the 1.5 T class.

“All three sites contributed key areas of expertise to the project,” says Pan. Erlangen supplied the system integration know-how — in other words, the overall technological design. Oxford is Siemens' base for the development of superconducting magnet coils. Shenzhen concentrated on significantly reducing the production costs of MRI scanners in order to satisfy the requirements of the S.M.A.R.T. segment.

A decisive step was the simplification of the control system for the complex matrix coils. Simple MRI systems have only a single reception coil, with which only a certain region of the body can be examined. But Siemens' Total imaging matrix technology enables flexible configuration of up to four coils, making it possible to image different parts of the body continuously without the inconvenience of having to reposition the patient or exchange the reception coils.

Researchers in Shenzhen incorporated this technology into their scanner by integrating a dedicated switching matrix into the examination table, with which up to four reception coils can be used simultaneously. This approach combined cost reduction with modern imaging technology (parallel imaging), which allows for tremendously reduced measurement times and delivers a corresponding savings potential for hospitals. As a result, a complete examination of the central nervous system, for instance, can now be performed in less than ten minutes.

Other innovations enable users to save space, energy, and money during installation. For instance, the use of a lightweight, 3.2 t magnet, which was developed in Oxford but is today manufactured in China, enables associated scanners to be installed on higher floors of a building. In addition, high-performance electronics allow energy savings of up to 50 % compared to older systems. “With the MAGNETOM ESSENZA, we developed a product that didn't previously exist,” says Pan. “Although it doesn't offer all the functions of systems in the higher market segment, it delivers impressive results for the majority of applications in daily hospital operations.” This makes the scanner an affordable alternative for customers who don't require the broadest range of clinical applications. “The scanner is an attractive and successful system worldwide — and not just for emerging markets such as China,” says Dr. Richard Winkelmann, product manager at Siemens Healthcare.

Quality Made in China. Collaboration between Siemens locations has been so effective that it will be continued and extended beyond development to production. “A major advantage of the Shenzhen site is local sourcing,” says Pan. While nearly all the components were imported initially, today they are almost all procured from Chinese suppliers. “In order to establish our local supplier base, we had to invest a lot of time and effort into ensuring proper quality,” says Pan. “But the hard work paid off. Local production and short transport distances have enabled us to significantly reduce production costs.”

Additional savings are expected by producing some parts at a single site. These savings can be achieved through higher volume production or the expanded use of inexpensive raw materials or labor. In addition, Siemens sales units from around the world will continue to work together. Pan hopes that close working relationships with Chinese hospitals — which traditionally have to perform a balancing act between high quality and low costs — will make it possible to recognize trends even earlier than in other countries.

“To meet the needs of our customers, we have to work very closely with them and react quickly to their feedback in all markets,” says Pan. “This requires us to be every bit as present in an emerging market such as China as we already are in the developed markets of Europe or America.“