Helium Shortage Prompts MRI Fears, Federal Action
WASHINGTON — Though it may be the second most abundant element in the universe, a helium shortage is beginning to affect hospitals throughout the world, as the element serves a key purpose for MRI machines. The element may be prevalent throughout the cosmos, but Earth’s atmosphere is not particularly effective at keeping it here, meaning it is mostly harvested from underground deposits where it has been trapped by the planet’s geology. The general public may be more likely to hear about the phenomenon while shopping for celebratory balloons, but the global trend could cause a serious problem in the health care industry. The most important and sensitive component of an MRI machine is the massive magnet that allows the device to create an image. Electricians and contractors go to great lengths to isolate the magnet from structural vibrations, electrical interference and various electromagnetic waves. Helium is used to keep the magnet at an ultra-cool temperature of 452 degrees below zero on the Fahrenheit scale.
Tom Rauch, global sourcing manager for GE Healthcare, told Wisconsin’s Herald Times Register, “Helium is currently the only element on Earth that can effectively keep the magnet this cold and allow for the high-field strength, stable and uniform magnetic fields that make modern MRI systems possible.”
“If the supply constraint on helium continues unabated, it could be very harmful to patient care,” Rauch added. “If there were no helium to properly service an MRI, a ‘quench,’ or sudden boil-off could occur.
“While there is no immediate patient safety risk, a magnet could sustain permanent damage and may need to be replaced — an expensive and time-consuming process,” he concluded.
Needless to say, most hospitals cannot afford to risk damaging one of their most important, expensive and sensitive pieces of equipment. Helium is also often used in the arc welding process for various reasons, which could theoretically impact hospital construction costs in a round about way.
As expected, the federal government has found itself at the epicenter of a debate on the resource’s management. The U.S. has a federal helium reserve 12 miles north of Amarillo, Texas, which was established in the 1920s when the element was considered very important for the nation’s military. The facility’s location in the Lone Star state seems fitting, as the reserve is the biggest in the world. Helium is often harvested as a bi-product of natural gas extraction. This means America’s vast deposits of natural gas are accompanied by massive amounts of helium, making it the largest producer of the element in the world.
The shortage has led health care experts and economists across to country to call for everything from questioning the use of helium in balloons to closing the national reserve and selling off all the current supply as soon as possible. The current federal plan, formed by Congress in 1966, calls for all reserves to be sold off by 2015. Some commentators have embraced this plan, as they believe the national reserve artificially deflates the price of helium, preventing private companies from entering the market. Others argue that the reserve is connected to a helium deposit that could sit in the ground untapped if the federal facility is mothballed.
The Helium Stewardship Act of 2012, a federal senate bill attempting to address the issue, was announced in early September. Two Republican senators from Wyoming, John Barrasso and Mike Enzi, have cosponsored the bill with Democrats Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico and Ron Wyden of Oregon. The bill calls for the federal reserve to be maintained beyond 2015, while changing rules regulating how and when the government sells off its reserves. The bill’s authors believe this action would reduce the artificial alteration of helium prices, while ensuring federal researchers have a steady supply through the year 2030 when private entities will hopefully have entered the market and stabilized the situation.