A new magnetic resonance imager at Ashtabula County Medical Center is giving physicians a clearer picture of their patients’ health.
The new MRI represents a $1.2 million investment into local healthcare technology.
Nancy Shaw-Herzog, ACMC’s Director of Imaging Services, said the new equipment will be more comfortable for patients, shorten the time to complete the test, and provide better image resolution for physicians.
“ACMC’s new high-tech MRI takes advantage of the latest technology to benefit the patient and physician. It is a convenient combination of efficiency, comfort and precision,” she said.
An MRI is a common, non-invasive diagnostic test physicians use to get a clear view of internal organs, blood vessels, lymph nodes, or the brain. The test can be used to detect tumors, congestion or blockages, blood leaks, infections, heart valve disorders, fluid buildup in or around an organ, tissue damage or inflammation.
Physicians can also use the new MRI in conjunction with digital mammography to detect breast cancer by using extremely high-resolution images of breast tissue.
The new imager uses magnets and radio waves to create the pictures.
The pictures, known as slices, are stored digitally and can be accessed by any physician on-site or remotely through ACMC’s electronic medical records system.
From the patient’s viewpoint, the new MRI lessens the exam time by as much as 30% over older imagers. Much of the decreased exam time comes from improved technology for delivering the image signal from the patient to the computers used to store and view the images. Another improvement for patients is a larger, more comfortable test bed. The beds are able to accommodate larger patients with ease, while providing a more comfortable platform for the test – reducing the restlessness of patients who are nervous or uncomfortable during the test. The new MRI has a wider opening, giving the patient more comfortable space within the unit. This decreases the feeling of claustrophobia for some patients.
From a physicians’ point of view, the new MRI greatly improves their ability to diagnose diseases and illnesses at earlier stages. It gives them a more complete picture of what is happening internally.
“The MRI can be a whole-body scanner, or it can focus tightly on one small segment of the body. This gives us a variety of options for providing images for our physicians,” Shaw-Herzog said.
The imager comes with computerized protocols that assist physicians and technicians perform the actual scan itself. It can be programmed for specific imaging patterns. It also automates many of the repetitive steps that were once performed manually.
“The ability to focus on viewing the images while the computer does all the small tasks is invaluable for physicians and patients. It speeds the exam process, and lets the technicians focus on reviewing the images, while monitoring the patient,” Shaw-Herzog said.
The new imager is also designed to easily accommodate future upgrades at a lower cost.
ACMC President & CEO Michael Habowski said, “ACMC is very pleased to be able to offer the most advanced medical technology right here in our community.”
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