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St. Mary Medical Center today announced that it has invested more than $3 million to add a new, high-field truly open magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system. St. Mary Imaging/Langhorne will be the first clinical site in the nation to offer this exciting new technology. The Hitachi OASIS is a state-of-the-art scanner that delivers outstanding image quality in an open system environment preferred by patients for its comfort and convenience.

The OASIS is unique, because it is an open MRI system that incorporates the capabilities of high-field strength imaging. Although open MRI systems have been in use since the early 1990s, most physicians prefer the higher resolution of diagnostic images obtained in high-field strength MRIs. High-field strength MRIs typically have an enclosed circle design within which a magnet rotates, and for many patients, this tunnel-like experience can be source of anxiety and discomfort. Open MRI systems were designed to alleviate feelings of claustrophobia and increase patient comfort, yet until now, could not quite match the level of image quality offered by a high-field system.

The high-field open MRI is a breakthrough in advanced technology that successfully accommodates patient comfort and produces high-quality diagnostic information for every region of the body. The wide-table design also better accommodates obese, pediatric and limited-mobility patients, including the elderly or infirm. In addition, the high-field open unit offers fast scan times and motion-compensation technology for clearer imaging. A variety of specialized coils are used for advanced detailed studies of the brain, spine, shoulders, legs, breast, neurovascular and abdomen.

This new high-field open MRI technology offers patients and physicians the best of both worlds, notes Dr. Daniel Cohen, St. Mary Medical Director of MRI. "As technology has continued to progress, the differences in image quality and patient comfort have been minimized. We can now offer patients the security of a spacious design for added comfort during scans while simultaneously providing the most accurate scan results to aid physicians in their diagnoses," Cohen says.