Comparison based on each manufacturer's published specifications.

For ICU teams, capnography that's ready in seconds and batteries that outlast the transfer mean a full set of observations is there when you need it, which matters most if your patient deteriorates.

The 3860+ pump: what it can do for you

Most infusion pumps aren't designed to go near an MRI scanner, so infusions are usually run through the wall on long lines. The 3860+ uses a non-magnetic ultrasonic motor and can run inside the scan room up to the 10,000 gauss line, within its MR Conditional limits. IRadimed describes the MRidium as the only known non-magnetic IV infusion pump designed for use during MRI, and it can deliver from a bag, bottle or syringe. It weighs 5.2 kg, covers rates from 0.1 to 1,400 mL/h, and runs for more than 12 hours on battery at rates up to 125 mL/h.

• Dose Error Reduction Software (DERS), with a drug library tailored to your unit and soft and hard limits
• Optional Channel B sidecar for a second infusion from the same pump system
• Optional wireless remote for control from the control room

Much like the 3880, you connect your patient to the pump at the bedside, and it goes to MRI and back with them. With the optional remote, you can start, stop, titrate and give boluses from the control room, without entering the scan room or pausing the scan.
Keeping the pump close to the scanner also keeps the line short, so there's less dead space and less drug sitting in the line. You'll switch back to your usual pumps on return to ICU, so changeovers happen on the unit with your team around you, rather than in a corridor.

How the 3860+ compares with your current MRI infusion setup

Most MRI departments run infusions in one of two ways: usual ICU pumps kept outside the scan room on long lines, or usual pumps inside a shielded station in the room [1][2]. The table shows how the 3860+ compares with both.

Shielded station figures are from one manufacturer's published specification.

For ICU teams, the 3860+ means nothing changes at the scan room door, and the pump stays close enough to keep the line to your patient short.

What a transfer could look like

UK guidance notes that equipment failure is the most common adverse event on critical care transfers [1], and a 2024 project at a Midlands ICU found transfers to imaging put patients at risk when medicines, equipment and monitoring aren't fully prepared [3]. The table below compares a swap-at-the-MRI-door transfer, based on one NHS trust's guideline [2], with a transfer using the 3880 and 3860+. Safety screening and checks apply to both.

Things to think about before you buy

• Monitoring requirements: Consider the parameters your patients need, including ECG, SpO2, NIBP, invasive blood pressure, EtCO2 and temperature. The modular 3880 can be configured to suit your ICU's clinical requirements.
• Infusion requirements: Each MRidium 3860+ can deliver two simultaneous primary infusions with its optional sidecar. The ICS suggests limiting MRI transfers to three or four infusions [1], and a second pump gives up to four channels, without long extension lines through the waveguide.
• Ease of transfer: Consider how equipment size, weight and portability affect your transfers. IRadimed's compact systems help reduce equipment changes, line handling and disruption to monitoring and infusions.
• Training and implementation: Involve your MRI team in a practical demonstration or trial. Familiarisation, consumables and local MR safety procedures should be considered before routine use, including checking each component's MR Conditional limits with your MR Safety Expert [4]. With MR Conditional ratings for scanners up to 3T and straightforward controls, the 3880 and 3860+ are a good fit for both MRI and ICU teams.

Our verdict

For ICU teams regularly transferring ventilated or critically ill patients to MRI, the IRadimed 3880 monitor and MRidium 3860+ infusion pump offer a simpler way to maintain continuity of care. Patients can stay connected to the same monitoring and infusion equipment from ICU, through the scan and back again, with remote monitoring and pump control from the control room. Fewer equipment changeovers and less line handling mean fewer points where monitoring or infusions could be interrupted, and a smoother, more controlled transfer for patients and staff.

Probo Medical UK is the exclusive UK distributor of IRadimed. If you'd like to see the 3880 and 3860+ on your unit, get in touch to discuss further or arrange a demonstration or trial.

References

1. Intensive Care Society. Guidance on the transfer of the critically ill adult, 5th edition. Published 22 April 2026. https://ics.ac.uk/static/d7f672d0-aa36-4b24-b17a8b0d55749943/The-Transfer-Of-The-Critically-Ill-Adultedition52026v21.pdf

2. Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust. Clinical guideline: the transfer of a Level 3 critical care patient to MRI. Version 1.0, 2023 (released under FOI). https://www.royaldevon.nhs.uk/media/33rdohqa/foi-rdf3229-25-clinical-guideline-for-the-transfer-of-level-3-critical-care-patients-to-mri_redacted.pdf

3. Pearson L, Finney A. Patient safety during transfers from critical care: developing and assessing a checklist. Nursing Management. 2024. doi:10.7748/nm.2024.e2137. https://journals.rcni.com/nursing-management/evidence-and-practice/patient-safety-during-transfers-from-critical-care-developing-and-assessing-a-checklist-nm.2024.e2137/abs

4. Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency. Safety guidelines for magnetic resonance imaging equipment in clinical use, 5th edition. July 2026. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/safety-guidelines-for-magnetic-resonance-imaging-equipment-in-clinical-use