Why is the world running out of helium? Why are doctors worried?

Around the world, helium in short supply. While one might tend to regard the shortage of the lighter-than-air element that makes balloons buoyant as little more than a minor nuisance, it is doctors who are expressing worry. Let’s take a look at the reasons why: What is helium? Helium is the second most-abundant element in the known universe. However, finding it on Earth is a different matter  – the non-renewable element is usually found deep within the planet’s crust. As per Wired, one of the reasons for helium’s scarcity is its lightness – hence it escapes the atmosphere and floats into space. Why is it so important? Once deployed on space shuttle missions, helium is also is used in the manufacturing of semiconductors. But more importantly, it is liquified to cool magnetic resonance imaging scanners (MRIs). As per Wired, MRIs work by generating a huge magnetic field using a super conducting magnet and many coils of wires through which a current is passed. This, of course, requires a massive amount of energy. This is done via superconductivity, which involves trying to reduce the resistance in the wires to near zero – accomplished by a feeding the wires with a steady supply of liquid helium at -269.1 degrees centigrade.

[caption id=“attachment_11545341” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] An MRI typically uses 1,700 litres of liquid helium.[/caption]

This needs to be topped up periodically.

For doctors, MRIs are essential. Going without them is nigh unthinkable.

“You get these sharp images, and you can distinguish soft tissues,” Dr Scott Reeder, chief of MRI at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health told NBC. “It’s central to many things we do in modern medicine.” Who produces helium? Only a handful of countries – led by the United States, which runs the Federal Helium System, a massive reserve and enrichment facility in Amarillo, Texas – produce the inert gas, a by-product of natural gas production. Russia is among them. “Helium has become a big concern,” Mahadevappa Mahesh, professor of radiology at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine Baltimore, told NBC. “Especially now with the geopolitical situation.” The development comes as the supply chain, which has been described by experts as ‘fragile’ and shortage-prone, is yet to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, which have led to massive order backlogs, delivery delays and shortages of workers and raw materials. This in addition to plant closures earlier this year – in Texas over safety issues, in Russia after a fire (prior to the war in Ukraine), and in Qatar for maintenance. Though Russia could potentially could ease matters, the war in Ukraine has halted almost all trade with the US. Phil Kornbluth, president of Kornbluth Helium Consulting told NBC four of five major US helium suppliers are rationing the element. “Helium is on allocation for sure,” said Donna Craft, a regional construction manager for Premier Inc. who contracts with helium suppliers for some 4,000 hospitals. “We’re probably not blowing up balloons in the gift shop anymore.”

As per IndiaTimes, helium rates have already risen a whopping 30 per cent already.

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What can be done? At this point, not much. While no other element can be substituted within MRIs, companies such as GE Healthcare and Siemens Healthineers – which manufacture the products – are already working on newer technologies and MRI machines that consume less liquid helium. While Siemens developed one that requires just 0.7 litres of liquid helium, GE released another which is 1.4 times more efficient than previous models, as per the report. With inputs from agencies Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.