systemGE HealthCareMRIfamily: signa-hd

GE Signa HDx 1.5T

Family: GE Signa HD (legacy) · Modality: MRI

GE's mid-2000s-through-early-2010s 1.5T MRI, positioned between the Signa Excite HD predecessor and the Signa HDxt successor. Major installed-base platform in community hospitals and outpatient imaging centers through the HD-generation Signa era. 8 or 16 RF channels, LCC CX4k magnet, HFD gradient set. Current-decade secondary-market volumes are large; many HDx sites have upgraded to HDxt-class host software over their service life.

Platform highlights

  • LCC CX4k magnet — GE's 1.5T magnet family of the HD generation. 48 cm field of view.
  • 60 cm bore — standard GE 1.5T bore width of the era (GE did not move to 70 cm bores until the Signa Voyager / Artist chassis generation).
  • HFD (High Fidelity Gradients) — GE's gradient family on Signa HDx. 33 mT/m amplitude, 120 T/m/s slew. Adequate for routine clinical and most advanced applications; below research-grade.
  • 8 RF channels standard, 16 channels optional — 16-channel configurations support accelerated parallel imaging (ASSET) and higher-channel-count coils.
  • HD Reconstruction — real-time reconstruction at the scanner workstation.
  • HD23 software family — the host-software revision line that defined late HDx configurations and transitioned the installed base toward HDxt.
  • MR-Echo sequences — T1, T2, T2*, FLAIR, EPI, DWI, MR angiography, cardiac MR (configuration-dependent).

Specs

  • 1.5 T · 60 cm bore · 48 cm FOV
  • LCC CX4k magnet
  • HFD gradients — 33 mT/m / 120 T/m/s
  • 8 RF channels standard, 16 optional
  • HD23 host software family
  • ASSET parallel imaging
  • PROPELLER motion-correction sequences

Clinical positioning

  • Community hospital and outpatient imaging 1.5T — routine neuro, MSK, body, vascular.
  • Mid-volume cardiac MRI at 16-channel configurations with dedicated cardiac coils.
  • Breast MRI at 16-channel with dedicated breast coil.
  • Musculoskeletal imaging — knee / shoulder / wrist / ankle with high-channel phased-array coils.
  • Not positioned for research-grade neuroscience — the HFD gradient set is below Siemens Prisma / Ingenia CX / Signa Premier research-tier performance.

Market position (secondary / refurb)

  • Very large installed base globally. Signa HDx is among the most-traded 1.5T MRI platforms in the secondary market.
  • HD-generation service ecosystem is deep — GE OEM service, multi-vendor MRI service organizations, coil aftermarket, and host-software support all mature.
  • Upgrade pathway within the HD family — many HDx sites upgraded host software to HDxt-class over time (HD23-tier upgrades bridge the gap).
  • Refurb economics — entry-tier capital point for a GE 1.5T; step-up pathway is Signa HDxt → Signa Voyager 1.5T → Signa Artist 1.5T (70 cm wide-bore current class).

Relationship to siblings

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