MRI machines need thousands of liters of liquid helium to function. Health care workers say they can’t afford any disruptions to the helium supply chain.
The issue is not how much can be produced right now, but the rate at which we are depleting it.
I found different estimates on how long earth’s helium supply will last, and most of them are between 10 and 100 years. That’s not a long time, considering that it means we will lose access to a whole element.
Both Philips and Siemens Healthineers recently started selling alternatives to traditional MRI machines, which hold 1,700 to 1,800 liters of liquid helium and require constant replenishment.
Some models now require just 1 to 7 liters of helium and don’t need any replenishment.
That could mean a much lower usage, and a much longer timespan for the supply.
I got the 6 million from this link: https://www.chemanalyst.com/industry-report/helium-gas-market-578
The issue is not how much can be produced right now, but the rate at which we are depleting it.
I found different estimates on how long earth’s helium supply will last, and most of them are between 10 and 100 years. That’s not a long time, considering that it means we will lose access to a whole element.
According to the OP article:
That could mean a much lower usage, and a much longer timespan for the supply.
That would indeed be very helpful. But if all the other usages keep draining the supply, it will only help extend artificial reserves.