How to budget for a refurbished 1.5T MRI in 2026

Buying a refurbished 1.5T MRI is more than the sticker price. Beyond the system itself, you’ll budget for civil work, siting, regulatory paperwork, training and a year of warranty cover.

The system

The headline cost is the system. 1.5T systems from Siemens, GE, Philips, Canon Medical, Hitachi and Fujifilm occupy different positions on the curve:

• Flagship 1.5T (Siemens Avanto, GE Signa HDxt): the most expensive tier; wide-bore or high-gradient options command a premium.
• Workhorse 1.5T (Siemens Essenza, GE Optima MR360, Philips Ingenia): the middle band; the most popular choice for new diagnostic centres.
• Economy 1.5T (Siemens Symphony, Philips Intera, GE HDx): the most affordable tier; spares and applications support are excellent because of large installed bases.

What the sticker doesn’t include

Beyond the system, budget for:

• Siting and civil work. Rigging, RF shielding, chiller, UPS and helium-quench pipe run. This is the line item that surprises first-time buyers.
• Regulatory paperwork. CDSCO registration transfer, AERB layout approval and AERB registration certificate. We handle this end to end.
• Application training. 2-3 days for a 1.5T; 5 days for a 3.0T. Included in the scope.
• Warranty. 12 months comprehensive by default. Extended cover available through our Comprehensive AMC/CMC plans.
• Service contract after warranty. A separate line item; expect a service contract to start in month 13.

Financing

EMI schedules of 36, 48, 60 and (for higher-end systems) 84 months are common. We work with three bank partners; the indicative EMI varies with the down payment, tenure and your institution’s credit profile.

A practical budget for a mid-band 1.5T MRI, system-only, lands in a range that, when financed over 60 months, implies an EMI that most mid-volume diagnostic centres can support from a single 8-10 scans-per-day throughput.