Method for operating a liquid helium cooling system of a magnetic resonance imaging system and a magnetic resonance imaging system

A method for operating a liquid helium cooling system of a magnetic resonance imaging system, the liquid helium cooling system including a helium liquifying device configured to operate in a standard operating mode to allow performing a magnetic resonance scan without venting of substantial amounts of helium, the method comprising:

• providing a first timetable and a second timetable, the first timetable including scan times of the magnetic resonance imaging system and the second timetable including a plurality of time slots, each time slot being associated with one of at least two different levels of electrical power availability, the at least two different levels including one level of highest electrical power availability;
• determining, based on the first timetable, off-times when the magnetic resonance imaging system is not used for scanning;
• determining, based on the second timetable, at least one time slot within the off-times that is not associated with the level of highest electrical power availability, wherein the at least one time slot is associated with a level of lowest electrical power availability among time slots within the off-times;
• activating a power-saving mode during the at least one time slot, wherein in the power-saving mode the helium liquifying device is supplied with a lower average amount of electrical power than in the standard operating mode;
• and
• activating the standard operating mode of the helium liquifying device prior to a start of a next scan time such that the magnetic resonance imaging system is operable during the next scan time without risk of venting a substantial amount of helium during or before the next scan time.