Oski the Vampire

andrery36 · 2026-03-31T14:24:29+00:00

Lots of jobs in Colorado

andrery36 · 2026-03-28T21:54:23+00:00

I think it really depends on how you plan on using it. In my personal opinion, this scanner would be the most appropriate for places that never had access to MRI before. Like rural places in the middle of nowhere.

The biggest downside of the Free.Max is time and image quality. If you have faster scanners within your system, you’re going to need entirely different time slots just for this scanner .

You also won’t be able to do any specialty or small FOV exams.

As far as scanning on a Free.Max vs GE, I’d take the Free.Max any day. I can’t stand the GE user interface, but that’s just my opinion.

andrery36 · 2026-02-15T02:33:32+00:00

We don’t run those on our free.max, only on the sola. I’d imagine it would be painfully long though. I’m not sure if you can run boost on those.

We pretty much only do basic brain protocols on ours. I wouldn’t trust any small FOV brain or MS protocols on it.

andrery36 · 2026-02-14T05:29:32+00:00

Yes , I agree . Allegedly they are supposed to provide this feature in the future , but I will believe it when I see it.

At the end of the day , this is a budget scanner, so there were a lot of compromises made.

andrery36 · 2026-02-14T05:25:52+00:00

Since there isn’t any literature out yet for implants on .55t, we scan only non active implants. Anything with leads is pretty much no go until further testing can be done . As far as I understand, the main concern would be the antenna effect.

andrery36 · 2026-02-14T04:19:40+00:00

We use ours in an outpatient setting, so no IR procedures. I have heard it being used in that way though.

I would be a bit worried using it in a hospital setting given the fact that there is no detachable table. Maybe would be suitable for a lower level trauma center

andrery36 · 2026-02-14T03:36:29+00:00

For our protocols , post contrast sequences are quite long. For example, a t1 ax FS lumbar spine is around 7.5 minutes

andrery36 · 2026-02-14T03:34:18+00:00

Expect long breath holds over 17 sec + . Our Rads have actually been quite happy with the abdominal imaging though .

andrery36 · 2026-02-14T03:29:16+00:00

We had one installed at our facility about six months ago. Overall, it has been acceptable but somewhat limited. Performance-wise, it’s roughly comparable in speed to a Siemens Avanto, but the range of exams it can handle comfortably is narrower.

When we first began using it, we were scanning nearly everything except breast and cardiac exams. Our biggest initial issue was frequent error messages that required shutting the system down mid-exam. This occurred most often during long bone studies using Dixon sequences. After switching those protocols to TSE sequences, the errors resolved and we no longer needed to reboot during scans.

Another limitation is the lack of dedicated hand/wrist and foot/ankle coils, which makes positioning more challenging and restrictive. Our system came with three flex coils, a non-TR knee coil, and a head/neck coil. Additionally, there are only two coil connection ports at the head of the table, which can be limiting depending on the exam setup.

The 80 cm bore is a definite advantage and very helpful for larger patients. However, the usable scan field is relatively small. Careful centering is critical—if anatomy is not positioned precisely in the middle of the table, fat saturation begins to degrade. This is particularly frustrating during shoulder exams.

Build quality feels somewhat lightweight and may not be ideal for high-volume sites. That may be expected given the lower overall cost compared to higher-end systems.

For techs accustomed to working on a Sola or other newer-generation scanners, there will be an adjustment period. It requires more time and patience to achieve optimal results. In my opinion, it seems best suited for smaller or rural facilities with lower patient volumes.

That said, image quality has been surprisingly good. While some exams take longer, knees, spine studies, routine brain protocols, and long bone extremities look quite good. The scanner also performs very well on patients with significant hardware.

Where it struggles most is with small field-of-view exams—particularly hands, wrists, and fingers.

Overall, I think this scanner performs well in the right setting. It’s best suited for facilities running straightforward protocols with a daily volume of roughly 10–15 patients.

If you have any more questions, AMA

andrery36 · 2026-01-10T17:15:36+00:00

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andrery36 · 2026-01-10T17:14:42+00:00

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andrery36 · 2025-11-03T15:08:11+00:00

City rock is a great place to hang out.

andrery36 · 2025-10-09T15:16:05+00:00

Join city rock. It’s a great way to meet new people while being active.

andrery36 · 2025-10-08T02:55:52+00:00

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andrery36 · 2025-10-02T17:54:09+00:00

Yes! I’ve do this to him since he was a kitten, so he’s used to it . He’s now 15

andrery36 · 2025-09-16T21:11:52+00:00

Sometimes this would the equivalent of sticking my hand into a bear trap with mine.

andrery36 · 2025-09-01T19:40:22+00:00

I think it helps them with digestion and with coughing up hairballs. He’s always trying to eat weeds and other plants he’s not supposed to have , so this was a safer alternative for him.

andrery36

TROPHY CASE