COMPARISONS OF DIFFERENT MRI UNITS
There are several different kinds of MRI units available on the market. The question often arises: "Which MRI units are the best available?" Well with that asked, there really isn't a clear cut answer. Each type of MRI serves it's own unique purpose as to why they are built or designed in each of their own individual ways. Below are the three basic types of MRI units available to patients. The first is the Open Upright MRI, (used and preferred by Sioux Falls Open Upright MRI). Second is the recumbent Open Sided MRI and third is the traditional Closed Recumbent MRI.
The Fonar Open Upright MRI.
The Open Upright MRI is the truest form of
an Open-Air MRI unit
available on the
market, as there
is nothing
in front of the
patient with exception
to clean-open air.
Another primary feature of the Open
Upright MRI is
that patients can be
scanned in the
position their symptoms
are most severe.
Rather than being
scanned in the recumbent
(lying down)
position, most patients are
either scanned
while standing or sitting. This
allows the
radiologist to interpret the patients images
more precisely as
they were taken in the
natural - weight bearing
position that was
initially causing the severity of the patients
symptoms
.
While the imaging strength of
the
Open-Upright MRI is not quite as strong as
the traditional tunnel type MRI, it is twice as
strong as most open MRI's in use today.
When it
comes to image quality and the
ability to
scan
a patient in a position their
symptoms are in their most severe state, it's
hard
to pass off the unique abilities of the Open Upright MRI.
Open Sided MRI
The Open Sided MRI was designed to help
patients who are claustrophobic, over
sized, or handicapped get through an MRI
scan while comfortable and relaxed. Open
sided MRI scanners are often unjustly
categorized as having poor
image quality.
Although this was true with the original
Open Sided MRI units produced 15 years
ago, technology quickly caught up and
the newer
Open Sided MRI units were able to meet higher quality standards allowing clinics to use this type of MRI in every day applications as apposed to just scanning patients who were claustrophobic or over sized.
Traditional (Tunnel Type) MRI
Approximately nine out of ten MRI machines
in use require the patient to slide head first
into a narrow tunnel. Most of these units
produce high-quality images, but the
enclosed tunnel often causes anxiety related
reactions in up to 30% of patients according
to a study published in the Journal of
American Medical Association.
Sioux Falls Open Upright MRI, LLC
6001 S. Sharon Ave. Ste. #7 | Phone: 605.275.5743 | Fax: 605.271.2235
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