News and New Products

Nonmagnetic-connector family suits MRI equipment

By Margery Conner, Technical Editor -- EDN, 1/16/2009

MRI (magnetic-resonance imaging) uses a powerful magnetic field to create an image of what’s happening under a patient’s skin. Because of these magnetic fields, the components within the MRI scanner must be nonmagnetic, such as those in new connectors from Phoenix of Chicago. The company’s connectors will protect signals from magnetic-field distortion in MRI equipment to ensure that scans are not compromised. Phoenix tests the connectors’ magnetic characteristics at 1.00010 μ_r (relative permeability). The connectors are available in snap-on, push-on, or threaded couplings and in low- to high-frequency bands. Their price ranges from $2 to $12.