“Enduring, not ultimate form”: from “Industrieform” to Red Dot (1980 - 1997)
GE Air MRI Head Coil
GE Air MRI Head Coil is a lightweight, flexible and unobstructed antennae used in Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machines. It collects signals from a patient’s head to create 3D images. The head coil is much lighter, less bulky, more flexible and less obstructive than traditional cage-style head coils, and thus much less intimidating to patients.
As the GE Air MRI Head Coil is low volume, lightweight and flexible, it makes storage, handling and adapting to any patient head easy – greatly improving the user experience in MRI technology. Thanks to the way the coil lays directly against the patient’s skin, it produces a higher quality image as well. It is also easier to clean and cheaper than traditional head coils due to its design: a single-part, flexible polymer over-moulded around the internal circuitry.
The head coil has demonstrated huge advantages during clinical use. For example, neurosurgery can be performed while the patient is wearing the head coil. This allows surgeons to plan and position the head coil before locking the patient’s head in the surgical head clamp. Traditional head coils have no room for surgeons to work in. With the GE Air MRI Head Coil, the patient’s MRI scans can be monitored for the entire duration of the procedure.
Red Dot Award: Design Concept | Concept | Life Science
Credits
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Company:GE Healthcare, United States
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Design Lead:Joseph Burge