Facilities running Fujifilm's original OASIS high-field open MRI face a familiar dilemma as patient volumes grow past what the aging system can efficiently handle. The obvious paths, a full replacement or living with lengthening scan times, both carry real downsides. Fujifilm's Oasis to Velocity transformation offers a third option: upgrading the existing 1.2T magnet in place, without the cost and disruption of a full forklift replacement. Here is what that upgrade actually involves and delivers.
What Actually Gets Replaced
The transformation removes every component of the original Oasis system except the 1.2T superconducting magnet itself. The table, electronics, cabinets, wiring, and receiver coils are all replaced with new hardware, and a new chiller is installed as part of the process. Because the magnet, the most expensive and disruptive component to replace, stays in place, the upgrade avoids the extended downtime, rigging costs, and site modification typically required for a full system replacement. Site planning reviews the existing space beforehand and produces detailed drawings showing the Velocity system in that space, with any minimal required changes addressed ahead of installation.
The Headline Technology: Synergy DLR and IP-RAPID
The upgraded Oasis Velocity gains Synergy DLR, Fujifilm's deep learning reconstruction technology, which uses AI-based noise reduction to produce cleaner images from less raw data, directly translating to shorter scan times without sacrificing image quality. Paired with IP-RAPID, an accelerated parallel imaging technique, the combination lets the system acquire images faster while maintaining or improving spatial resolution compared to the original Oasis. The 16-channel RF system supports this acceleration with the sensitivity needed for effective parallel imaging.
The Actual Numbers
Fujifilm's own before-and-after comparison data, generated on real acquisitions, shows meaningful time reductions across common exam types. Total brain study time dropped from 11 minutes 33 seconds to 6 minutes 59 seconds, a 40 percent reduction, with spatial resolution rated equivalent or higher across every sequence tested. Knee imaging saw the largest gain in the comparison, from 18 minutes 22 seconds down to 10 minutes 40 seconds, a 42 percent reduction, with higher spatial resolution on four of five sequences. Lumbar spine dropped 41 percent (17:53 to 10:34), cervical spine dropped 40 percent (matching the brain protocol structure), and ankle imaging, the most modest gain in the comparison, still improved 30 percent (18:58 to 13:08).
The New Coil Portfolio
The upgrade replaces the entire legacy Oasis coil set with a new integrated RF coil lineup. Standard integrated head, neck, and neurovascular coils cover neuro imaging with multiple attachment combinations for different exam types. A spine coil works in conjunction with an included blanket coil, which provides uniform volumetric coverage for dynamic abdominal studies, with an optional second blanket coil available for extended abdominal and pelvic coverage. The extremity and specialty lineup adds RAPID Shoulder, RAPID Knee/Extremity, RAPID Wrist, RAPID Foot/Ankle, and RAPID Breast coils, a Large Joint coil for anxious or critical care patients, and a 47mm Micro Coil purpose-built for small field-of-view orthopedic imaging like fingers and toes.
Practical Upgrade Details
Beyond image quality and speed, the upgrade brings the ability to connect four coils simultaneously rather than the original system's two, reducing coil-swapping between sequences within a single exam. The transformation includes a one year warranty and comes with on-site applications training from Fujifilm's team once installation completes, so updated protocols are ready to use immediately rather than requiring a separate training ramp-up period.
Who Should Consider It
This upgrade path makes the most sense for facilities with an existing Oasis system in otherwise good working order, facing volume growth that a full replacement budget cannot immediately accommodate, or facing a site that would face significant disruption from a full magnet replacement. For a facility already committed to Fujifilm's open MRI platform, it is a meaningfully lower-disruption path to modern scan speeds and image quality than starting over with a new installation.
Bottom Line: The Oasis to Velocity transformation delivers 30 to 42 percent faster scan times across common exam types, a substantially upgraded coil portfolio, and Synergy DLR image quality, all while preserving the existing 1.2T magnet and avoiding a full forklift replacement. For facilities with volume outgrowing an aging Oasis system, it is worth serious consideration before defaulting to a full system replacement.
