JERSEY – Jersey Community Hospital continues to add and update its technology and one such addition has been the region’s first Open Bore, Siemens 1.5 Tesla, magnetic resoance imaging (MRI) system.
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The new system combines a larger bore, or opening, for obese and claustrophobic patients with the ability to capture high-field quality diagnostic images.
JCH Imaging Center Director Ron Ausley said the new system is going to increase the hospital’s efficiency and patient convenience.
“The patient-friendly design of this magnet will make it easier for large patients and those with claustrophobia to have a MRI examination which produces higher quality images,” Ausley said. “This will potentially reduce the need to repeat and interrupt exams.”
Dr. Larry Reed, MD & Chief Radiologist at Jersey Community Hospital explains that a MRI plays a major role in the diagnosis and treatment planning for cancer, diabetes, heart and vascular disorders, and many other diseases associated with obesity.
“This open bore designed magnet will allow us to obtain high quality images on all patients, including obese patients,” he said.
Jill Bregenzer, a MRI technologist for 10 years at JCH, said the new equipment has greatly assisted patient comfort. She also said the time taking the image is considerably shorter and now with great detail making them easy to read.
Since two-thirds of American adults are overweight, the health-care industry is challenged to accommodate these larger patients with imaging systems that were designed for people who weigh much less. Currently, patients too large to fit inside the bore of a high-field MRI magnet have image studies done in open MRI systems with low-field magnets. This limits the diagnostic usefulness of the images obtained. The field strength of a magnet is measured in units of Tesla – the higher the number, the higher the field strength. The higher the field strength, the better the quality of images produced.
Claustrophobic patients present another challenge for MRI systems. They can be sedated, adding to their inconvenience and the time it takes to schedule and perform an exam.
The Siemens Medical Solutions MAGNETOM Espree installed at JCH Imaging Center features a bore opening of nearly 2.3 feet in diameter and almost one foot of free space between a patient’s head and the magnet. The Espree also features the shortest 1.5 Tesla magnet available. Approximately four feet long, the magnet allows more than 60 percent of exams to be completed with the patient’s head outside the bore, helping to ease claustrophobia.
The new system provides up to four times more signal-to-noise ratio over traditional open MR designs, which is desirable in imaging larger patients. In addition, the Espree can perform advanced clinical applications in less time, because it combines strong gradient performance with Siemens’ Total imaging matrix (Tim™) technology. Tim is the first whole body surface coil design that enables the highest resolution images in a shorter acquisition time. Tim coils are very light, making them both easy to position and tolerate when scanning larger patients, improving cooperation.
The MAGNETOM Espree provides best patient comfort and high-quality images and diagnostic confidence for all types of patients, Reed said.
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