Helium shortage puts a kink in supplies for hospital MRIs and party balloons

It's most often associated with party balloons and squeaky voices, but a worldwide shortage of liquid helium could have effects far beyond the circus tent.

One fifth of the world's supply of the super-cooled gas is used in MRI scanning equipment, though health care officials from Framingham to Waltham yesterday said the global shortage hasn't effected patient care - yet.

``If we had to decommission a machine, first of all, all the patients we care for would be out of the opportunity to have an MRI scan, but ... (so far) there's no effect at all in the patient care or the operation of the scanner.''

Magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI scanners, uses powerful magnets to generate a magnetic field which can be used to peer inside the human body with great detail.

To generate the field, though, most MRI scanners rely on liquid helium's extreme cold - -452 degrees Fahrenheit - to transform the magnets into superconductors, which allow the scanners to create more powerful magnetic fields and thus greater detail in the scans.

Though the helium shortage hasn't forced any MetroWest or Milford area hospitals to shut down their scanners, it has put a kink in their supply lines.

Steve Brune, an MRI service engineer at MetroWest MRI, a facility affiliated with MetroWest Medical Center in Framingham, said the facility's suppliers in recent months have scaled back on deliveries of the liquid gas.

``The level of helium inside an MRI is measured by percentage,'' Brune said. ``Typically, the target area is to (fill it) into the mid-90 percent range. What they're doing is filling them into the high 70s and low 80s.''

For Milford Hospital, the helium shortage is a virtual non-issue, not because the hospital has no MRI scanners, but because the facility contracts the maintenance of the machines - including helium refills - to a separate company.

While the hospital's stationary MRI has to be refilled ``every few months,'' according to spokeswoman Terri McDonald, the newer mobile unit is a newer design, which requires few, if any, refills.

``The system is designed so that even though it has helium in it, it doesn't ever have to be replaced,'' McDonald said.

At Shields MRI, which runs several scanners in Framingham and also operates an MRI facility at Newton-Wellesley Hospital, spokeswoman Kim O'Sullivan said three quarters of the scanners use the newer, ``zero boil-off'' technology.

``We have some older machines that have to be replenished every three months,'' she said. ``(But) we have not seen any impact as a result of the shortage.''

Though area hospitals haven't felt the effects of the shortage, companies like Alliance Imaging, which contracts with more than 1,000 hospitals and health care facilities nation-wide for the upkeep and operation of MRI scanners, has seen some small hiccups in business.

``I think we've seen one incident where we were delayed in receiving helium a couple days,'' said Pat Williams, vice president of asset management for the California-based company. ``We were notified a while back that there was a potential worldwide helium shortage.

``Like the hospitals, many of our systems require fills once or twice a year, so they are minimally effected.''

Hospitals and medical facilities aren't the only businesses affected by the global shortage, though.

Just as it is in MRI scanners, liquid helium is used as a coolant during parts of the microchip manufacturing process, prompting chip makers like Intel to brace themselves for any hitch in the supply.

``We do use helium to some extent,'' Intel spokesman Patrick Ward said. ``We are aware supply is tight, and we are preparing to ensure the tight supply doesn't impact our business.''

Ironically, the one place the shortage is felt most acutely, may be the businesses that use one of the smallest amounts of helium - balloons.

At stores like iParty in Framingham, the helium shortage has forced drastic measures to ensure folks who want those colorful balloons and squeaky voices can still get them.

``We've been coping with the shortage for six months, and our greatest concern is to provide continued, and hopefully seamless, service to our customers,'' said Dorice Dionne, senior vice president of merchandising for iParty. ``We have had to closely monitor the number of tanks each store receives to make sure everyone has enough, we've contacted various suppliers to try to ensure we continue receiving supplies, we've instituted conservation measures which effects our in-store displays, and we've inspected and upgraded equipment to prevent small leaks.''

Peter Reuell of The MetroWest (Mass.) Daily News can be reached at 508-626-4428, or at preuell@cnc.com.