Most powerful MRI now available at DMH

October 7, 2005
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For More Information Contact: Mike Cassell, Marketing Manager, 876-3232

Decatur Memorial Hospital is the first in Illinois to offer 3 Tesla MRI by Philips Medical Systems, the newest and strongest field magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner available for clinical use.

The 3 Tesla MRI has twice the magnetic strength of the more common, and currently utilized, 1.5 Tesla systems. Double the strength means double the power. The extra power enables new capabilities for assessing the human body in ways not previously possible, improves on older techniques, and increases patient comfort.

Human body structures and functions, previously invisible and poorly understood, may now be investigated and evaluated. Minute anatomic detail can now be seen more clearly than previously possible. Most scans can now be completed in half the time required on the weaker systems. For the first time, the entire human body can be scanned in high resolution, from head to toe, in 30 minutes.

Because of the new powers it provides, the 3 Tesla MRI can assist radiologists and other physicians in earlier and more accurate diagnosis, as well as improved evaluation of response to treatment of a wide variety of medical conditions, including cancer, brain and spine disorders, musculoskeletal, and cardiovascular disease. The larger patient opening, fast scan times, and more accurate scans, reduce the need for rescanning, and contribute to a more patient-friendly system.

"This new technology marks a major advancement in magnetic resonance imaging," said Robert Dodenhoff, M.D., DMH diagnostic radiologist. "The specifications and technical capabilities of this device were, until very recently, thought to be impossible to achieve. Some day, systems like this will be available, and in use, everywhere. We are fortunate to have it in use today in Decatur."

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