Polarean Imaging PLC's (AIM:POLX, OTC:PLLWF) stock popped 12% to 0.14p on Monday after the company cleared a major technical hurdle in its bid to get Xenon-based lung scans into more hospitals.
Philips has signed off on Polarean’s XENOVIEW 3T chest coil, confirming it plays nicely with the Dutch giant’s next wave of 3-tesla MRI scanners.
The coil already has US Food and Drug Administration clearance, but Philips’ own validation is the golden ticket. It means the hardware will be compatible with scanners rolling out from early 2026, including the MR 7700 and Ingenia Elition X lines.
For the uninitiated, a tesla measures magnetic field strength in an MRI machine; more tesla, sharper pictures, faster scans.
Polarean’s niche is functional lung MRI, not the usual anatomical snapshots, but real-time ventilation mapping.
Patients inhale xenon gas before they go into the scanner, giving clinicians a view of airflow problems that regular imaging can miss. Philips first enabled Xenon MRI on its MR 7700 model in 2022; Polarean’s coil now broadens that capability across far more machines.
The company said Philips’ sign-off sets the stage for wider clinical adoption and future revenue growth.
Chief executive Christopher von Jako called it “another important advancement” that broadens access to Xenon MRI, reduces workflow hassles for clinicians and “unlocks growth opportunities” as the technology rolls out.