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A San Antonio imaging office is now offering a new kind of MRI, they can do the test without injecting contrasting dyes.

Magnetic resonance imaging allows doctors to peer deep inside the body, diagnosing problems that used to be invisible.

For vascular tests, patients often have to be injected with dyes, a substance that can be harmful to people with kidney problems. “In our population here in San Antonio especially, there are a lot of patients who are diabetic with renal disease for whom an MRI with contract could be detrimental,” said Dr. Rajiv Vasan, an interventional radiologist.

That’s why Baptist M & S Imaging has invested in a new software program that changes the dynamics. It allows patients to be imaged without the use of a contrast agent, providing intricate images of veins and arteries that can be crucial to future treatment.

Instead of measuring the dye, the MRI can now measure flow to create the pictures. “A muscle does not move, whereas in a blood vessel, the blood is moving,” Vasan explained. “So you basically look at the signal of the moving blood.”

Making the test less risky is good news for people with kidney disease, many of whom have had to go without needed MRIs or opt for more invasive tests.

“Now you’re able to image patients in a non-invasive fashion and yet give them answers that could lead them to achieve therapy that might not have been previously accessible,” Vasan said.
 
Baptist M & S Imaging is the first in San Antonio to provide non-contrast MRI. They’ve been using this new technique for a couple of months now on more than 50 patients with great success.

Source: Baptist Health System

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