If you manage imaging equipment, you already know the GE Air coil is a workhorse — and you’ve probably already felt the sting of what happens when it fails. GE’s “blanket” coils are available in several configurations: 16-channel, 20-channel, and 30-channel models. What is the cost to repair a GE Air coil?
Here’s the pattern: most Air coils start failing somewhere around the 2 to 2.5-year mark. The cause is almost always the same — internal wiring that’s been flexed and folded around patient anatomy, thousands of times, finally gives out.
When that happens, you’re typically looking at three paths forward.
💲💲💲Option 1: OEM Replacement — $80,000 -to- $100,000, next-day
Fast, and there’s no ambiguity about what you’re getting — a brand-new (or factory refurbished) coil with a full lifespan ahead of it. But the cost is hard to justify for a single coil, especially when the failure is a wiring issue.
💲🏃♂️➡️Option 2: Standard Third-Party Repair — $3,000-$4,000, 1-3 days
Cheap and quick, and not all repair providers have capabilities. But here’s the catch that often doesn’t come up until later: a standard repair fixes only the wires that already broke. It doesn’t account for the rest of the coil — and the rest of the coil has been through the exact same flexing and folding stress. If one or two wires failed, the others are often partway through the same wear process. It’s common for these coils to come back with a new failure within months, simply because the underlying wear was never fully addressed.
That doesn’t make the standard repair a bad option — it makes it an incomplete one. It’s worth going in with clear eyes about what you’re, and aren’t, getting for that price.
🧠💯Option 3: Innovatus’ Comprehensive Repair — $5,000-$8,000, 5-7 days
This is where Innovatus Imaging takes a meaningfully different approach. Instead of patching the one or two wires that failed, Innovatus addresses all the wiring in the coil — because if some wires failed from wear, the rest are on the same clock. The result is genuine like-new performance and a lifespan that can match a new coil: typically 2 to 2.5 years. Yes ! ALL traces and loops are replaced.
Below is a chart illustrating the various options and the cost to repair a GE Air coil
| OEM | Industry Standard | Innovatus Imaging | |
| Cost | $80-$100,000+ | $3,000 – $4,000 | $5,000 – $8,000 |
| What’s Fixed | New-coil | Only failed loops/traces | All internal loops/traces |
| Turnaround | Next-day | 1 – 3 days | 5 – 7-days |
| Expected Lifespan | 2 – 2.5 years | Other worn wires may fail in coming months | 2 – 2.5 years (like new) |
| Warranty | 3 months | ~3 months | 6 months |
🔍Why the Warranty Tells the Real Story
A repair company’s warranty terms usually reflect how confident they are in their own work. Innovatus backs every coil repair with a 6-month warranty — double the typical industry standard, and double what comes with an OEM coil. That’s not a marketing flourish. It’s a direct reflection of the comprehensive nature of the repair: when you address all the wear in a coil instead of just the symptom, you can stand behind it longer.
That confidence is backed by data, not just policy. Innovatus has completed more than 50,000 MRI coil repairs, and has been maintaining a 1.7% valid warranty rate — meaning the vast majority of repairs hold up exactly as expected. Specific to the Air coil, Innovatus has completed over 100 comprehensive repairs, including coils that had already received a standard point-fix elsewhere before coming to Innovatus for a more complete solution.
✅The Bottom Line
An $80,000 – $1000,000+ replacement isn’t always necessary, and a $3,000 quick fix isn’t always the bargain it looks like. For about 7% of OEM replacement cost, Innovatus delivers a repair built to last as long as the original coil — because it addresses the whole problem, not just the symptom.
If your Air coil is showing signs of wear — or you’re tired of repeat repair calls — talk to our Customer Care team about a comprehensive repair.
- Live Chat: Bottom right corner
- Request a Quote form
- Email: customercare@innovatusimaging.com
- 844-687-5100