Higher-field MRI is beginning to arrive in clinical practice, where 3 Tesla systems are often used as a second look, after conventional MRI or other diagnostic methods reveal suspicious findings, for diseases like epilepsy, or to pre-operatively image the extent and location of breast cancer. MR Instruments offers specialized radiofrequency (RF) coils especially suited to high field systems, to improve the signal-to-noise ratio of MR for clearer pictures and to also help researchers obtain other information, like the spectral characteristics of chemicals in the tissue for the study of metabolic processes.

In terms of medical applications magnetic resonance imaging could serve, the modality is still underused, and that means a large, untapped growth opportunity for the entrenched large manufacturers that dominate the industry with an installed base of capital equipment. Small companies have a role to play as well, with adjunctive technologies that serve the large players, or in niches too small for the multi-billion dollar players to notice.