A decade ago, Russia could abandon the expensive imported equipment. Photo:Sergei Kuksin

No secret that one of the main causes of a scandal with the purchase of imported scanners - their price. It's tens of millions of rubles, and so on pullbacks can be a very decent money. But few know that Russia in 2000 could refuse to import this medical equipment.

We have already had a scanner. Its price - a total of 6 million rubles, as in conventional X-ray machine, which is much cheaper than the imported machines. The authors gave him the name "Unitom" and another called "folk." Because at this price it is quite expensive for ordinary clinics. But now in the court in 2011, and the scanner for the people and stayed in a single copy.

May be to blame for the well-known conservatism of doctors? Maybe the name manufacturers worked? On the one hand, there are such giants as "Siemens", "Toshiba", "General Electric" and the other a kind of an unknown Russian company ...

"Unitom" is really capable of hitting. Most importantly - it does not require complicated and very expensive system with liquid nitrogen to create superconductivity. Professionals that seems unbelievable: how else can get a strong magnetic field. It provides the highest picture quality of human body. And all over the world seek to enhance the field in many different ways.

- We went the other way, the field does not increase, and vice versa - reduce - explains the Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences Valery Krutskih. - How did this paradoxical idea? You know, among those who stood at the origins of imaging, marked and then the Nobel prizes, there were many physicists in the field of so-called nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, which has a unquestionable axiom: The stronger the magnetic field, the better the resulting image. Hence the purpose of development: a strong, even stronger. Now the magnetic field has reached a 11 Tesla. But what's good for spectroscopy, is not ideal for humans.

Krutskikh noticed: the more magnetic field scanner, the more energy that is radiated by the device absorbs the body. Moreover, the image quality only initially increases in proportion to the magnitude of the field, but at some point saturation. An increase of almost no gain in the image. But it distorts the growing "noise" - a variety of interference. And here Krutskikh saw his chance. We should not strive for a strong field, and reduce the "noise". All possible means. It turned out that this virgin land.

- We are gradually brought his scanner, - said Valeriy. - For example, instead of analog signal processing applied digitally and immediately eliminated all the 'noise' that makes electronics. Changed the design and materials of the magnet, thus repeatedly to reduce energy waste and harmful interference. Invented a new system for receiving a signal coming from the human body, which is at the World Exhibition of Inventions in Bulgaria won the gold medal. In addition, much improved processing algorithms derived in MRI data.

Word, in fact, each node device has been developed from scratch. Which took almost 20 years. And a penny from the public purse. The device was created by means of the authors. Krutskikh achieved his goal, his scanner with a weak magnetic field gave the same picture quality as conventional vehicles of the "legislators" tomographic fashion. But "Unitom" got rid of superconductivity, and worked from the usual outlets, consuming only 0.5 kW instead of 100. And there was a lot cheaper.

Device has passed all the circles of clinical trials. We gathered a voluminous Krutskikh folder of correspondence and the positive findings, signed by eminent scientists and Medical Sciences Academy of Sciences, in particular, the Chairman of the Scientific Council of the International Tomography Center, Siberian Branch of RAS Renad Sagdeev. Moreover, chief of radiation diagnosis of Moscow, Yuri professor of Warsaw gave its approval for mass production. Commission on New Medical Technology Ministry of Health has set to recommend "Unitom" for mass production, he was even given a registration number. And when it seemed that all barriers are overcome, it stalled for more than 10 years. According Krutskikh all depends on the Ministry of Public Health, who declares that he is such a device without the need to. Recently

History with the Public MRI scanner came out for the next round. He was listed as a innovative proposals of Sciences and accepted for consideration by the Commission under the President of Russia's modernization and technological development of economy. However, the Health Ministry again denied it, citing the fact that this scanner magnetic field is smaller than that of imported vehicles. It turns out that officials do not understand what is unique is the essence of the invention.

- But we are stubborn as a rhinoceros, go ahead - laugh Valery .- Now consider the proposals of several companies from Omsk, Vologda, Dubna, Troitsk, who are ready to begin production of the imager. He already has on the application from almost 40 countries, in particular India, Pakistan, Iran, Iraq, Syria, which bulk purchases of traditional expensive technology can not afford. So the market is huge, and I am sure that the "Unitom" is sure to be in demand.

Way, recently reflected on the Public MRI scanner, even the Americans, where today there are about 30,000 such vehicles (in Russia only 450). U.S. Department of Health has provided the company "General Electric" grant to develop within three years, the concept of cheap magnetic imager.