If you’ve been following the news lately, you’ll know that helium supply is under renewed pressure. Global shortages are a recurring challenge and the current disruption to shipping routes has once again brought the fragility of the helium supply chain into sharp focus, with around a third of the world’s production affected.
For veterinary practices running traditional high-field MRI systems, that’s a real operational concern. For Hallmarq customers, it’s a reminder of why zero-helium technology was always the right call.
We’ve had it for years. We’d like to make sure you know exactly what it means and why some of the doubts you may have heard about helium-free MRI simply don’t hold up.
Why helium matters for MRI and why supply is a problem
Traditional 1.5T MRI machines use liquid helium to cool the superconducting magnet to approximately -269°C. A single system typically requires between 1,500 and 2,000 litres of helium to function, with top-ups needed every few years as helium naturally boils off.
Helium is the second most abundant element in the universe, but on Earth it’s a non-renewable resource. It’s extracted as a byproduct of natural gas processing from a small number of facilities worldwide, which makes the supply chain inherently fragile. Prices have risen significantly over recent years and when disruptions occur – whether from geopolitical events, plant outages, or logistics breakdowns – veterinary practices are rarely at the front of the queue. Human healthcare typically takes priority.
This isn’t the first helium shortage and it won’t be the last. Which is precisely why Hallmarq built a different solution.
Hallmarq’s zero-helium small animal 1.5T MRI: the facts
Our small animal 1.5T MRI uses vacuum technology and a conduction-based cooling system to maintain the superconducting magnet with zero liquid helium. No refills. No quench pipe. No oxygen monitor. No exposure to a volatile and increasingly scarce commodity.
It’s 100% helium-free and has been since we launched the third-generation system in 2022.
Here’s what that actually means in practice, cutting through some of the myths we hear most often.
Myth 1: “zero-helium just means reduced helium – it still uses some”
Fact: it means exactly what it says!
Hallmarq’s system contains no liquid helium whatsoever. The magnet is cooled through a conduction-based mechanism that requires no helium and no additional power to maintain. There is no quench pipe, no boil-off and no periodic refill schedule to manage.
Importantly, this is not a system that uses less helium than conventional MRI or one that recycles helium more efficiently. It eliminates the dependency entirely.
Myth 2: “a helium-free system will compromise image quality”
Fact: image quality is determined by magnet design and coils, not by the cooling method
The cooling mechanism keeps the magnet at the temperature it needs to function. How that temperature is achieved doesn’t affect field strength, signal quality or diagnostic capability.
Hallmarq’s 1.5T system delivers the same high-field image quality you’d expect from any 1.5T MRI, with the added advantage of veterinary specific coils and software designed around animal anatomy, not human anatomy. Our veterinary neurologists and radiologists consistently report image quality that matches or exceeds that of conventional high-field machines and our comprehensive case studies library supports their findings.
Myth 3: “helium costs are manageable. It’s not a big enough issue to change systems over”
Fact: the total cost exposure is significant… and and it’s growing
Most 1.5T MRI systems using conventional cooling require helium refills and when a system quenches – an unplanned loss of helium – the cost to refill can be as much as $150,000 in a single event. However,that’s before factoring in the downtime, the disruption to your imaging schedule and the increasing difficulty of securing supply at all. Helium prices have risen substantially in recent years and the current supply disruption is likely to push them higher still. Practices that budgeted for helium costs at 2022 prices may find those assumptions no longer hold.
With a Hallmarq zero-helium system, there are no helium refill costs at any point. No quench risk. No permit requirement for a quench pipe installation. No oxygen monitor for the MRI room. These savings contribute to a meaningfully lower total cost of ownership over the life of the system.
Myth 4: “installation is still complex even without helium”
Fact: removing helium significantly simplifies the process
Conventional 1.5T MRI installation requires planning for a quench pipe – a vent system that safely directs helium gas away from the room in the event of a quench. This involves additional building works, permits and cost.
Hallmarq’s system has no quench pipe requirement. Combined with its built-in RF shield, which eliminates the need for a purpose-built shielded room, installation is substantially simpler, faster and less expensive than a conventional setup typically offering a saving of around $100,000. Our team handles everything from architectural planning through to commissioning, typically getting you from contract to first scan in around four to six months.
Myth 5: “this is a niche concern. Most practices aren’t affected by helium shortages”
Fact: every practice running a conventional high-field MRI is exposed
The helium shortage isn’t theoretical. It’s playing out in real time, with hospitals and imaging centres in both human and veterinary medicine facing supply constraints, delayed refills and cost increases they hadn’t anticipated.
Veterinary practices are particularly vulnerable because, in any allocation crunch, human healthcare takes priority. A practice that can’t access helium faces a choice between an MRI machine sitting idle or paying whatever the market demands to keep it running.
Hallmarq’s zero-helium technology removes that vulnerability entirely. Whether the current disruption resolves quickly or persists for months, Hallmarq customers aren’t affected.
This isn’t a reaction to the current moment, it’s been our position for years”
Mick Crosthwaite, CEO Hallmarq Veterinary Imaging
We’re raising this now because it’s relevant and timely. But the engineering decision that led to zero-helium technology wasn’t reactive, it was made years ago based on a straightforward reading of where helium supply was heading.
Helium is a finite, non-renewable resource. It can’t be manufactured. Once released into the atmosphere it escapes into space. The trend of increasing scarcity and rising prices is structural, not cyclical. The rapid rise of AI data centres – who require vast amounts of helium for cooling – is pushing demand even higher. And, at the same time, availability of this finite resource continues to reduce.
Hallmarq’s zero-helium small animal 1.5T MRI was built for exactly this environment. With our 99% uptime guarantee, you can be confident that whatever is happening in global commodity markets, your imaging service keeps running.
Want to know more?
If you’re considering small animal MRI and want to understand what zero-helium technology means for your practice – on costs, installation, image quality and long-term resilience – we’d be glad to talk.
