For 75 years, ASG Superconductors has been at the forefront of superconducting technology. It is an Italy-based company specializing in the production of superconducting magnets, systems, and wires used in the research, energy, and medical sectors.
“From the magnets that enabled the discovery of the Higgs boson to record-breaking superconducting wires for power transmission, we have contributed to the world’s largest international research projects, such as the discovery of the Higgs boson in 2012 at CERN. But ASG also has important collaborations in the U.S., such as at Fermilab,” ASG Superconductors USA Inc. Head of North America Stephen Gibbs said.
Q: Can you share more information about ASG Superconductors?
A: As the company shifts its focus toward electrification and sustainability, superconductivity is becoming increasingly viable for cost-effective industrial and everyday applications, thanks to advances in materials and expertise.
Our magnetic systems and superconducting cables – including our advanced MgB₂ high-temperature superconductor – are designed and manufactured in Italy but deployed worldwide, from Japan to Europe, from the UK to the UAE, and of course the U.S., drawing on solid expertise in physics, engineering, and manufacturing.
With a team of 200 highly specialized employees and subsidiaries in Italy, France, the United States, and the United Kingdom, ASG Superconductors is a global leader in superconducting technology.
Q: How does your company stand out in the imaging sector?
A: Superconducting technology has always played a fundamental role in the medical field. At ASG Superconductors, we use our expertise to develop patient-centered solutions. Our MgB₂-based technology powers the world’s only truly open, cryogen-free MRI system, the MROpen EVO, and supports advanced applications such as real-time MRI imaging for proton therapy.
Our expertise in the fields of magnetism and superconductivity also extends to hadron therapy, cyclotrons for cancer treatment and the development of sophisticated high-field UHF magnets. We offer complete systems, components and services to companies in the medical sector. We are one of the few companies in the world capable of manufacturing magnets ranging from 0.5 to 17 T.
Q: What are the future prospects for your company?
A: ASG has developed and is marketing an open-bore, cryogen-free MRI system based on proprietary technologies related to MgB₂ superconducting wire and magnets. ASG Superconductors USA’s goals are to expand and broaden access to the MROpen EVO system across all MRI imaging markets, to provide a solution that meets patients’ needs by making open MRI and positional imaging more accessible and usable, where appropriate, based on their clinical conditions.
Q: Is there anything else you’d like to share with ICE Magazine readers?
A: The MROpen EVO offers and integrates MRI services in a single, appropriate environment, which can positively impact the performance of exams in patients suffering from claustrophobia, anxiety or post-traumatic stress disorder.
The MROpen EVO’s unique technological structure and design – enabled by magnets built with our MgB₂ superconductor – allows patients with complex body types, young patients, frail patients, immobile patients, those in pain or those unable to lie in the supine position to undergo an exam and receive the evaluation best suited to their needs.
Imaging in different positions (standing, sitting, reclining) or positioning specific anatomical structures according to clinical indications can enable the treating physician to better assess the case in terms of weight distribution, cancer treatment planning, pain management or the evaluation of sports injuries. •
For more information, visit mropenevo.com.
