Helium is a nonrenewable resource that is produced by the radioactive decay of uranium or thorium within the earth’s crust. The process takes millennia, and once the element reaches the surface, it escapes into space, making the earth’s supply finite and irreplaceable.

An uncertain future
Currently, the largest global supplier is the Federal Helium Reserve in the U.S., established in 1925. In 1996, the U.S. government passed the Helium Privatization Act to sell off parts of the reserve to private companies to cut stockpile expenses, which had exceeded $1 billion. This led the private sector to cut back on its own helium production, which contributed later on to demand surpassing supply.
While originally scheduled to be completely sold off by September 2021, no sale has occurred yet, with the government issuing a notice in January seeking public comments on whether there is increasing risk for a helium-supply disruption, a move some experts have interpreted as the government possibly rethinking its decision to sell off the facility.

While Reeder says cooperation with these entities is essential to conservation efforts, providers must also adopt their own helium-conserving practices, namely, spreading awareness about the role that helium plays in MR scanning and other areas of healthcare.

“General strategies aimed at avoiding low-priority use of helium (for example, balloons) and the creation of secure supply chains and perhaps strategic reserves are needed,” he said.

MR providers should also invest in regular maintenance inspections to ensure MR components are functioning properly, as well as incorporate remote maintenance technologies and resources like freeze protection for coldheads.

In the last few years, manufacturers have also introduced scanners that use a fraction of the helium in traditional systems or none at all. In 2018, Philips unveiled its Ingenia Ambition X 1.5T MR scanner, which is initially charged with seven liters of helium when first set up and does not require more throughout its operational life. It followed this up in 2021 with its MR 5300 1.5T system.

While this new generation of scanners can hugely reduce a facility's helium dependency, Reeder says these systems are unlikely to replace the global fleet of traditional MR systems any time soon.

“New breakthroughs in superconducting magnets that could be operated at higher temperatures (for example, at liquid nitrogen temperatures) would be needed to obviate the need for liquid helium. In my opinion, this is unlikely to happen in the foreseeable future,” he said.

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