AIR™

It’s time for a simply better MR experience.

It’s time for an experience that embraces the clinical power of MR with a more ubiquitous design. For us, this is AIR™. Our family of products that includes an award-winning coil design, intelligent productivity applications and all-new reconstruction software. Altogether, AIR™ delivers clinical versatility and comfort, intelligent productivity improvements and consistently superior image quality.

REQUEST MORE INFORMATION

AIR™ is more than a name

It’s also more than AIR™ Coils. It’s a way of thinking. A symbol for how we approach both the form and the function of MR. From coils to workflow to image quality, we deconstruct everything down to its most fundamental, simplified version. And improve it. Each new innovation builds off of this core philosophy, increasing the value of the greater AIR™ ecosystem.

Holistically, AIR™ is MR. Simply better.

AIR™ Coils

Clinical versatility and comfort
AIR™ transforms the entire MR experience.
It started with an engineering breakthrough that led to the industry’s first truly lightweight coil design that conforms to the human body like a comforting blanket completely changing the patient experience. But this was just the start.
DISCOVER MORE

AIR™ Workflow

Intelligent productivity improvements
The technology at the core of this new coil design laid the groundwork for intelligent applications that automate and personalize fundamental steps in the MR workflow, so you can expect consistent image quality in predictable scan times from any technologist.
DISCOVER MORE

AIR™ Image Quality

Consistently superior IQ
Now, we’re adding an all-new reconstruction algorithm that utilizes noise calibration data acquired during prescan and weights receive channels according to their noise level.
DISCOVER MORE

Revolutionary coil
design that is up to 60%
lighter or more
Industry-leading versatility with a simple, more durable design
360 degrees of coverage
Weights as little as 0.3 grams per cm²
Streamline and optimize scan setup with
AIR Touch™
Automatically detect anatomy and prescribe slices with AIR x™

Each one brings something unique to the family

Each AIR™ product plays a role in transforming the MR experience. AIR™ Coils are light and flexible, making them comfortable for patients to wear and easy for technologists to handle. AIR™ Workflow applications automate and personalize fundamental steps in the MR workflow, so you can expect consistent image quality and exam times from any technologist. Now, AIR™ Recon reconstruction software is making exceptional image quality in faster scan times the new standard for MR. Explore the gallery below to see the clinical potential of individual AIR™ products.

30ch AIR™ Anterior Array
Coronal T2 PROPELLER
0.6 x 0.6 x 3 mm
4:08 min
21ch AIR™ Multi-Purpose Large**
Axial PD FatSat
0.3 x 0.3 x 3 mm
4:11 min
AIR™ 48ch Head Coil
and AIR™ Multi-Purpose Large**
0.7 x 0.7 x 3 mm
3:30 min
20ch AIR™ Multi-Purpose Medium**
Cube PD FatSat
0.5 x 0.5 x 0.5 mm
5:00 min
AIR™ 48ch Head Coil
3D TOF
HyperSense
0.3 x 0.3 x 0.5 mm
No interpolation
AIR™ 48ch Head Coil and AIR x™

It all links up to a simply better image

What really sets our AIR™ family of products apart is the way they all work together. It started with an engineering breakthrough that led to the industry’s first truly lightweight coil design and laid the groundwork for intelligent workflow applications and an all-new reconstruction algorithm. Each one builds off of the potential of the rest of the family, creating a chain of innovation that all links together to transform the entire MR experience.

Awarded Best New Radiology Device of 2019, AIR™ Coils are the foundation of a simply better MR experience. The engineering breakthrough at the heart of our AIR™ Coils allowed us to create the industry’s first truly lightweight, flexible design, laying the groundwork for greater positioning freedom and a comfortable patient experience.

Experience versatility

- ≥ 60% lighter design compared to previous generations of conventional coil technology
- Clearly marked guides
- Flexible, ultra-low profile design to fit all sizes, shapes and ages
- Highest channel count and coverage in the industry
- No snapping or locking
- Space-saving design

VERSATILITY

Get closer with adaptive MR

The shape of the coil no longer determines what you can do with it. Wrap it around a knee for a complete knee image. Move it from that knee to an elbow without having to move the patient. Drape it over the torso of a high BMI patient if you need to. With the adaptive AIR™ Coil that is light, form fitting and easy to position, it’s the closest you can get to total positioning freedom with 360-degree coverage.

Comfort

Like being wrapped in a blanket

We wanted to design a coil that would free patients from the experience of traditional coils by replacing that experience with one that is both comfortable and comforting, like being wrapped in a blanket. AIR™ not only behaves like a blanket, it truly feels like one. Its light weight is evenly distributed without any concentrated points of pressure to help patients feel more at ease. From young or claustrophobic patients to professional athletes, AIR™ comfortably conforms to the size and shape of every patient.

Design

Every time we found ourselves starting to
compromise, we started over

From the very beginning, flexibility and versatility were the standards we measured everything we developed against. That meant we had to rethink all of the interior electronics to come up with a solution that took up less space and worked more efficiently. In the end, we came up with something so fundamentally different than anything else in the industry that there would be no turning back.

DREAM: Flexibility or nothing
From the very beginning, flexibility was the standard we measured everything we developed against. Anything less than a completely flexible coil was considered unacceptable.

INNOVATE: Everything inside had to change
There was simply no room for bulky or lumped components. That meant we had to rethink all of the interior electronics to come up with a solution that took up less space and worked more efficiently.

ITERATE: Fine tuning to perfection
After the initial prototype, we challenged ourselves to go one step further by making something that was elegant, yet functional with image quality that could rival, or potentially exceed traditional coils. In the end, we came up with something so fundamentally different than anything else in the industry that there would be no turning back.

PROTOTYPE: The breakthrough of getting everything to work together
Our first working prototype was a simple, four-channel coil pieced together completely by hand. Even though it was only a glimmer of what AIR Technology™ would eventually be, once we demonstrated how it worked, its potential captured the imaginations of our peers.

Technology

This simple loop breaks every mold

It took two separate, but simultaneous research projects to develop the innovative technologies at the heart of AIR Technology™. Together, they consolidate the functionality of the coil for efficiency. This simplified design is the basis for a revolutionary coil that is lighter, offers more flexibility and provides greater coverage.*

E-mode electronics
Its small size is its biggest strength
Housed within this miniaturized module are some of the most advanced coil electronics ever developed. Our proprietary E-mode electronics reduce current noise, boost linearity and improve tolerance to varying coil loading conditions. It makes the most out of every centimeter to reduce component volume by more than 60 percent.
Conductor loop
Flexibility that's way ahead of the curve
Sometimes the right material can be the linchpin to a breakthrough innovation. For AIR Technology™, it was the conductor material for the loop. Lightweight and bendable, this series of linked resonators replaces what used to be rigid circuit boards and lumped components. It’s the flexible core of our form fitting coil design.

It turns out you can out-engineer conventional wisdom

Developing a light, flexible loop is one thing, but finding a way to control loop-to-loop interactions was no small feat of engineering. Because of the low profile and performance of the E-mode electronics module, we were able to place it right at the base of each loop where it can better control the surrounding magnetic and electric fields. This allowed us to break free from critical overlap restrictions and arrange elements closer together.

Get closer to what you need to see

Since the very first MR, coils have been both a bridge and a barrier between radiologists and what they need to see. The flexibility of AIR™ makes it less of a barrier. By bringing the elements closer to the area-of-interest, it improves image quality. It also opens up opportunities to image patient types and anatomies that previously were challenging to image with conventional coil designs.

SIGNA™ Premier
Coronal MUSE DWI of the kidneys
2 x 2 x 4 mm
SIGNA™ Premier
Sagittal PROPELLER MB of the female pelvis
0.7 x 0.7 x 4 mm
2:50 min
SIGNA™ Premier
Axial T2 PROPELLER MB
0.7 x 0.7 x 3.5 mm
4:19 min
SIGNA™ Premier
TRICKS
1 x 2 x 1.5 mm
3.9 sec per phase
SIGNA™ Premier
Two-station chest/abdomen/pelvis acquired
without moving the coil or subject
3:40 min
SIGNA™ Architect
SSFSE with ASPIR
1.1 x 1.6 x 5 mm
2:42 min

Intelligent productivity improvements.

Using innovative AI, AIR™ Workflow builds off of our innovative AIR™ Coils with AIR Touch™ and AIR x™, two automated applications that make a clinically impactful difference through a simply better* workflow.

AIR Touch™

Ready to know

AIR Touch™ is part of our patient recognition solutions. It’s a predictive and proactive solution that automatically selects the best coil element combinations for each patient over the precise area-of-interest. By the time you’re ready to scan, you already know you’re going to get the best image possible for your patient.

Simplify scan setup with customized parameters
Optimizes uniformity and SNR
Automatically select which coils/elements to use

AIR x™

Intelligent MR slice prescription

AIR x™ uses deep learning algorithms to automatically detect and prescribe slices for routine and challenging neurological exams, delivering consistent and quantifiable results. The automated workflow optimizes technologist efficiency and reproducible planning to ensure exam consistency for same patient follow-up.

Automatically detect anatomy and prescribe slices
Delivers consistent and quantifiable results
Helps eliminate rescans and scanning inefficiencies

Consistently superior IQ.

AIR™ Image Quality completes the AIR™ family of products with image reconstruction software that reduces background noise and out-of-FOV artifacts. It helps improve signal-to-noise and image sharpness in images without having to overcompensate in your scanning protocol.

AIR™ Recon

Make no substitutes for image quality

AIR™ Recon is designed to make exceptional image quality in faster scan times the new standard for MR imaging. It reduces background noise and out-of-FOV artifacts for an improved signal-to-noise ratio and clearer, crisper images. All without having to overcompensate in your protocols, making it easier for every technologist to consistently achieve the image quality you need in the first scan.

Clearly consistent images

Available on the majority of routine clinical scans, AIR™ Recon is seamless to use and always on. It works in the background collecting image noise data during prescan and using it to elevate the quality of images. AIR™ Recon is an important step in universalizing exceptional image quality and faster scan times for all.

AIR™ 48ch Head Coil
0.5 x 0.5 x 2.5 mm
3:56 min
AIR™ 48ch Head Coil and
AIR™ Multi-Purpose Coil Large**
0.7 x 0.7 x 3 mm
3:30 min
AIR™ Anterior Array Coil
0.5 x 0.5 x 3 mm
5:02 min
AIR™ Anterior Array Coil
0.4 x 0.5 x 2 mm
3:10 min
AIR™ Multi-Purpose Coil Large**
0.4 x 0.4 x 3 mm
3:34 min
AIR™ Multi-Purpose Coil Medium**
0.5 x 0.5 x 0.5 mm
5:00 min

Hear from your peers

GE SIGNA™ Premier with AIR™. Testimonial video from Hospital Quirónsalud, Madrid
Meet the team of the Diagnostic Imaging Department in Hospital Quirónsalud. Radiologists of each specialty and radiographers share their experience with GE Healthcare SIGNA™ Premier and AIR™ technology.
Dr Gerhards, Radiologisches Institut Dr. von Essen, Germany
This innovative coil represents a step into the next generation of MRI, which was why we were so eager to be one of the first practices in the region to use it » Dr Gerhards, Radiologisches Institut Dr. von Essen, Germany

Read the Case Study
AIR Technology™ at ERASMUS MC, Rotterdam, NL – Overview
Listen to the testimonial of Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, talking about their full experience with AIR Technology™.
AIR Technology™ at ERASMUS MC, Rotterdam, NL – Radiographers’ perspective
Hear the testimonials from the radiographers at ERASMUS Medical Center in Rotterdam, using AIR Technology™ on the SIGNA™ Premier.
AIR Technology™ at ERASMUS MC, Rotterdam, NL – Radiologists’ perspective
Hear the testimonials from the clinicians at ERASMUS Medical Center in Rotterdam, using AIR Technology™ on the SIGNA™ Premier.
GE Symposium at ECR 2019 – How MRI with AIR Technology™ brings comfort, speed and quality
View the full reply of Dr. Martinez presentation at ECR Symposium in Vienna, talking about his experience with AIR Technology™ .