MR Access Files Patent Infringement Lawsuits Against Siemens Healthineers, GE HealthCare and Philips Over Core MRI Technology Suits in Delaware and Texas assert patents from decades of MR research led by co-founder Dr. J. Thomas Vaughan as company prepares to launch globally accessible MRI platform
NEW YORK, OCTOBER 29, 2026 — MR Access Inc., a U.S. medical technology company developing MRI to be accessible and affordable, has filed three patent infringement lawsuits against Siemens Healthineers, GE HealthCare and Philips. The complaints, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware and the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, allege that certain MRI systems sold by the defendants infringe MR Access patents covering how MRI systems transmit, tune and control the radiofrequency (RF) fields used to produce diagnostic images.
The asserted patents, which include U.S. Patent Nos. 6,969,992, RE47,026, 9,847,471 and 8,217,653, address three engineering problems central to MRI performance. These technologies enabled commercial high field MRI through improvements to image quality, scan efficiency and the range of exams a scanner can perform.
MR Access co-founder J. Thomas Vaughan Jr., Ph.D., is a named inventor on each of the asserted patents, which arise from his NIH funded research and that of his team of collaborating scientists and engineers before he joined Columbia University. Dr. Vaughan and his team pioneered multichannel RF transmission and RF shimming to improve imaging quality, efficiency, localization and safety. He is now a professor of biomedical engineering and radiology physics at Columbia. Columbia University is not a party to the lawsuits.
“My objective as a researcher has been to enhance our ability to safely image the anatomy, chemistry and physiology of the living body for science and medicine, with higher signal, resolution, contrast and speed. Our next challenge is to make these capabilities available to patients and communities currently with limited or no access to MRI." says Dr. Vaughan.
“Our patents are the product of years of research and substantial investment, and they are the foundation of the products MR Access is building,” said Chang B. Hong, General Counsel of MR Access. “Siemens Healthineers, GE HealthCare and Philips are using inventions developed by our team without authorization. We respect the intellectual property of others and expect the same in return. We filed these lawsuits to hold these companies accountable for their unauthorized use of our patented technology, and we will continue to enforce our rights.”
MR Access owns or controls 47 patents, which it plans to use in its own MRI technology and service model. The company is developing an integrated platform that combines compact whole-body scanners, autonomous image acquisition and cloud-based AI diagnostics delivered to the patient and their radiologist anywhere on Earth.
“MR Access was founded to make high-quality MRI available to far more patients, at a fraction of today’s cost,” said Christopher Rose, CEO of MR Access. “We are a small American company asking the courts to protect the innovation of Dr. Vaughan and his co-inventors so we can bring that technology to patients.”
MR Access is represented by Desmarais LLP, with Delaware counsel Farnan LLP and Texas counsel Miller Fair Henry PLLC.
About MR Access Inc.
MR Access Inc. is a U.S. medical technology company working to make MRI more affordable and accessible. The company brings together scientific and clinical leaders in MR physics, engineering and radiology. It is developing an integrated platform combining a new compact, cloud-networked MRI scanner to autonomously acquire, curate and analyze image data for diagnostics direct to patient and radiologist. www.mraccessinc.com.
About Desmarais LLP
Desmarais LLP is a litigation firm focused on complex, technology-driven disputes, including patent and other intellectual property matters. The firm represents major corporations, smaller companies and individual inventors and has offices in New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. For more information, visit www.desmaraisllp.com.
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