Shoshone Medical Center has just recently purchased and installed a new $1.8 Million MRI machine. The Toshiba Vantage Titan 1.5 Tesla MRI combines an ultra short bore at 140 cm and a very spacious bore diameter of 71 cm. This allows no compromises in scan quality while maximizing patient comfort. The advantage of the larger bore is to accommodate patients up to 550 pounds. The larger bore may also help patients that may be claustrophobic and traditionally would need medication for the scan. This MRI also has more powerful gradients for decreased scan times. The position of the tabletop can be lowered to 17 inches from the floor to accommodate patients that have difficulty transferring. Approximately 80% of exams will be able to go feet first. The Vantage Titan comes with the Pianissimo gradient coil enclosure that will reduce acoustic noise by up to 90% compared with conventional techniques. This advanced technology greatly enhances patient comfort. Patients will be able to pick a variety of music to listen to while being scanned. In addition to the new MRI, the SMC Radiology Department also has CT scan, Xray, Ultrasound and (Dexa) bone density scans available Monday through Friday and emergent cases for CT scan, Xray and MRI on call at all other times.
Why MRI?
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (also know as MRI) was initially researched in the early 1970’s and the first MRI prototypes were tested on clinical patients in 1980. MRI imaging was cleared for commercial availability by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1984 and its use throughout the world has spread rapidly since. There are now more than 10,000 MRI systems in use worldwide. MRI is a non-invasive way to examine your anatomy and/or organs, and can provide your physician with vital information. MRI can provide exquisite contrast detail between different tissues with very similar densities, for instance gray and white brain matter. This makes MRI excellent for imaging many types of soft-tissues including: the brain, vessels of the brain, eyes, inner ear the neck, shoulders, cervical spine and blood vessels of the neck the heart, aorta and coronary arteries the thoracic and lumbar spine the upper abdomen, liver, kidney, spleen, pancreas and other abdominal vessels the pelvis and hips, male and female reproductive system, and bladder the musculoskeletal skeletal system including joints such as the shoulder, knee, wrist, ankles and feet MRI imaging in general, and MRI angiography specifically, are finding a greater role as technology moves forward and imaging becomes faster and obtains higher resolution capabilities.Unlike CT, MRI has no ionizing radiation. However, MRI is not appropriate for every diagnosis, and CT is still an extremely powerful diagnostic tool for a multitude of health issues.Your physician knows the differences between the scans and understands which test is best for you according to your diagnosis. Please remember to consult your physician and find out what diagnostic study is right for you.
