Helium shortage Doctors are worried that running out of the element could threaten MRIs Liquid Helium - Mahadevappa Mahesh HEAD TOPICS
Helium shortage Doctors are worried that running out of the element could threaten MRIs
10/22/2022 7:21:00 PM A global helium shortage has doctors worried about one of the natural gas s most essential and perhaps unexpected uses MRIs
Liquid Helium Mahadevappa Mahesh
Source Yahoo News
A global helium shortage has doctors worried about one of the natural gas s most essential and perhaps unexpected uses MRIs The world is running out of helium. Helium is the only element cold enough to keep MRI machines cool enough to function. Without it, doctors lose a valuable imaging tool. “Helium has become a big concern,” said Mahadevappa Mahesh, professor of radiology at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine Baltimore. “Especially now with the geopolitical situation.”war in UkraineRelated video: U.S. companies race to mine lithium while protecting environment in the gift shop anymore.”‘An essential commodity’that allow doctors to see details in organs, bones and tissue that may not show up on X-rays. Read more:
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As the country with the largest number of nuclear weapons, Russia has repeatedly cautioned the West that any attack on its territory could trigger a nuclear ... Read more >> The World is Running Out of Helium. Here's Why Doctors Are Worried.Strange as it sounds, the lighter-than-air element that gives balloons their buoyancy also powers the vital medical diagnostic machines. An MRI can’t function without some 2,000 liters of ultra-cold liquid helium keeping its magnets cool enough to work. Oh no! What about all the balloons. It’s seems like we have heard this before. A few times. Never had a shortage. Did you do any research? The World is Running Out of Helium. Here's Why Doctors Are Worried.Strange as it sounds, the lighter-than-air element that gives balloons their buoyancy also powers the vital medical diagnostic machines. An MRI can’t function without some 2,000 liters of ultra-cold liquid helium keeping its magnets cool enough to work. Oh no! What about all the balloons. It’s seems like we have heard this before. A few times. Never had a shortage. Did you do any research? Woman seriously injured Friday night in San Jose hit-and-runA woman was suffering from life-threatening injuries Friday night after she was struck by a vehicle in what San Jose police investigators are calling a hit and run collision. White House Worried Elon Musk Deals Threaten National SecurityElon Musk to Cut Twitter Staff by 75% as Biden Worries Deal Threatens National Security Man of the people Oh no, whatever shall we do Spike in illnesses threatening hospital beds, but’s not because of COVID-19, doctors saySan Antonio is seeing a high number of flu cases months earlier than usual, according to doctors at University Health System. Melanie Griffith & Daughter Stella Are Giving Lookalike Vibes During Beverly Hills Girls DayMelanie Griffith and her daughter, Stella Banderas, had matching styles during their girls trip out in Beverly Hills. global helium shortage has doctors worried about one of the natural gas’s most essential, and perhaps unexpected, uses: MRIs.But helium — a nonrenewable element found deep within the Earth’s crust — is running low, leaving hospitals wondering how to plan for a future with a much scarcer supply.But helium — a nonrenewable element found deep within the Earth’s crust — is running low, leaving hospitals wondering how to plan for a future with a much scarcer supply.The collision occurred in south San Jose at about 7 p. Strange as it sounds, the lighter-than-air element that gives balloons their buoyancy also powers the vital medical diagnostic machines. An MRI can’t function without some 2,000 liters of ultra-cold liquid helium keeping its magnets cool enough to work. Get the NBC 7 San Diego app for. But helium — a nonrenewable element found deep within the Earth’s crust — is running low, leaving hospitals wondering how to plan for a future with a much scarcer supply. “Helium has become a big concern,” said Mahadevappa Mahesh, professor of radiology at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine Baltimore. “Especially now with the geopolitical situation.m. ” Helium has been a volatile commodity for years. This is especially true in the U.S., where a Texas-based federal helium reserve is dwindling as the government tries transferring ownership to private markets. Until this year, the U. S. was counting on Russia to ease the tight supply. An enormous new facility in eastern Russia was supposed to supply nearly one-third of the world’s helium, but a fire last January derailed the timeline. Although the facility could resume operations any day, the war in Ukraine has, for the most part, stopped trade between the two countries. Now, four of five major U. S. helium suppliers are rationing the element, said Phil Kornbluth, president of Kornbluth Helium Consulting. These suppliers are prioritizing the health care industry by reducing helium allotments to less essential customers. Related video: U.S. companies race to mine lithium while protecting environment “Helium is on allocation for sure,” said Donna Craft, a regional construction manager for Premier Health who contracts with helium suppliers for some 4,000 hospitals. “We’re probably not blowing up balloons in the gift shop anymore.” Hospitals haven’t canceled patients’ MRIs or shut down machines yet. They have seen helium costs rise at an alarming rate, though — possibly up to 30%, Kornbluth guessed. But without an end in sight for the helium shortage, the future of MRI remains uncertain. Story continues ‘An essential commodity’ MRI, short for magnetic resonance imaging, has been a staple of health care since the 1980s. The massive machines provide high-resolution images that allow doctors to see details in organs, bones and tissue that may not show up on X-rays. “You get these sharp images, and you can distinguish soft tissues,” said Dr. Scott Reeder, chief of MRI at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. “It’s central to many things we do in modern medicine. ” MRIs help doctors diagnose brain tumors , strokes, spinal cord injuries, liver diseases and cancer. The 3D images, experts say, are irreplaceable. Instead of relying on X-rays, which emit trace amounts of radiation to peer inside the body, MRIs use magnetic fields and radio waves. When someone lies stock-still inside the tube-shaped magnetic field, their body’s atoms align with strong magnetic currents. Pulses of radio waves then tell the machine’s sensors which tissues are where, and the machine renders its image. MRI scanner at Altona Children's Hospital in Hamberg, Germany, Au,. 2022. (Marcus Brandt / dpa/picture alliance via Getty Images file) Keeping an MRI’s magnetic current superconductive requires extreme cold. That’s where helium comes in: With a boiling point of minus 452 degrees Fahrenheit, liquid helium is the coldest element on Earth. Pumped inside an MRI magnet, helium lets the current travel resistance-free. “Helium is how the magnet continuously exists,” Mahesh said. “It’s an essential commodity.” At any point, an MRI machine contains about 2,000 liters of liquid helium, though suppliers need to replenish any helium that boils off. Mahesh .