MagCorp, Philips partner to bring power of MagLab research to MRI tech

A formal agreement between Tallahassee-based MagCorp and Royal Philips, a leading healthcare technology company, is designed to improve the future of magnetic resonance imaging, better known as MRI.

MagCorp serves as the go-between for Philips and the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory or MagLab at Innovation Park. The partnership creates a direct path for researchers and scientists to offer consultations and develop a report on the future landscape for MRI magnets.

“This is an incredibly exciting frontier because MRIs have changed modern medicine through the use of magnets. They’ve essentially replaced exploratory surgery in most cases,” said Greg Boebinger, the MagLab’s director.

He explained, in general terms, how exploratory surgery meant a surgeon would go in with a scalpel “and explore.”

"It sounds so much cruder than what you can do with magnetic resonance imaging now with the use of magnets,” Boebinger told the Tallahassee Democrat in an interview.

MRI scanners are machines that use powerful magnets to capture images inside of the body. Boebinger said the new partnership is timely.

Every magnet used for clinical purposes has been grounded in materials discovered in the 1960s, Boebinger said. New materials are now available that can completely change the medical landscape.

These materials could take MRIs to high definition and reveal new insights inside the body.

When asked what his long-term hope is with the Philips partnership, Boebinger said the company is one of the country’s leading MRI magnet manufacturers. The Mag Lab specializes in magnetic research, writing the textbooks that will be used by the next generation of scientists and engineers.

“There’s always been this gulf that’s difficult to bridge between basic research and the marketplace,” Boebinger said. “This represents a huge step forward in an area of mutual interest where we’re building that bridge.”

Several parties, including the Tallahassee-Leon County Office of Economic Vitality and Florida State University, were instrumental in the evolution of the partnership with Philips.

“Industrial advancement outside of current MRI technology is bringing new capabilities into play that have historically been out of reach for MRI magnets,” said Josh Hilderbrand, director and head of MRI Magnet Research and Development with Philips, in a statement. “Finding ways to leverage emerging technologies and apply them to MRI has the potential to increase accessibility, impacting more lives in support of Philips’ mission and vision.”

How did the partnership between Philips, MagCorp and the MagLab happen?

The path to this partnership was a winding road that began with a lead.

Roughly four years ago, members of the Magnetic Task Force, Mag Lab staffers and others were trying to court companies to Tallahassee. The specialized committee wanted to attract companies with magnetic enablement in their products, services or operations.

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Philips – a leading healthcare technology company that hopes to improve the lives of 2.5 billion people per year by 2030, including 400 million in underserved communities through “meaningful innovation” – was one of those leads.

“At that time, they were sort of just a name on a piece of paper,” said Jeff Whalen, director at Magnetic Corporation, also known as MagCorp. "It wasn’t a relationship yet. It wasn’t anything formal. It was more just some early vetting that there was interest in what we were talking about as a task force.”

Those involved began asking more targeted questions to get at the root of what Philips needed. They got an answer: MRI technology.

It was an aha moment for Tallahassee, considering an MRI is a giant magnet and the capital city was home to the world’s largest magnets.

The connection was clear, and soon a mutually beneficial relationship was forged through site visits and regular communication.

MagCorp was tagged to “seal the deal.” The private company, made up of former MagLab employees, was created to connect the MagLab with the private sector.

Confidentiality clauses were activated, and, over time, Tallahassee officials, researchers and others had a better understanding of how the company and the city could partner.

The goal of the partnership will be to achieve the betterment of MRI technology, including a smaller carbon footprint and fewer environmental impacts from manufacturing, recycling and operating MRIs. It could also be building them at a lower cost or making them faster and smaller.

“They were really open with us about the fact that they viewed this partnership as a multi-year, multi-million-dollar relationship,” Whalen said. “This was not going to be a flash in the pan.”

TaMaryn Waters can be reached at tlwaters@tallahassee.com.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: MagCorp, Philips partner to bring power of MagLab research to MRI tech