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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend October 12, 2005 A new magnetic resonance imaging machine was delivered Tuesday to the new offices of Oregon Advanced Imaging. OAI built a skylight into the MRI room to provide an easy way to remove the machine at the end of its useful life without removing any walls. Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell Imaging gets a makeover ‘Open’ MRI machine gives patients more room, doctors state-of-the-art equipment By BILL KETTLER Mail Tribune A six-ton donut found a new home Tuesday near the Medford airport. A heavy-lift crane gingerly lowered the new magnetic resonance imaging machine into the offices of Oregon Advanced Imaging, in the Navigators Landing business park just west of the airport. The new machine maintains the characteristic "donut" shape of earlier generations of MRI equipment, but the "hole" inside is much larger (about 27.5 inches in diameter) and the donut is much smaller (about 50 inches in length overall). The new "open" MRI has all the power of earlier, more confining machines, but the bigger opening will accommodate large people who could not fit inside earlier machines, and the shorter barrel will feel less confining for those who suffer from claustrophobia. "Now we have the best of both worlds," said Dr. Mack Bandler, OAI board president. "It’s patient-friendly and we can get the highest image quality." Advertisement OAI is a partnership of Providence Medford Medical Center, Rogue Valley Medical Center and the 17 local radiologists who work together as the Medford Radiological Group. MRI scanners use powerful magnets and computers to produce images of internal body structures such as nerves and joints. The new machine will accommodate people who weigh as much as 450 to 500 pounds, said Carol Flinn, OAI executive director. It will replace the outpatient MRI at OAI’s Myrtle Street office in December, when OAI moves into its new 10,000 square-foot building at Navigators Landing. Flinn said most hospital patients will continue to have their studies done at Providence Medford Medical Center and Rogue Valley Medical Center, which both have an MRI on campus. There also is an MRI at Southern Oregon Pediatrics. OAI expects to receive more equipment today, when a new PET/CT scanner is scheduled to arrive. The PET (positron emission tomography) scan identifies cancer tumors by measuring tiny changes in the metabolic rate of malignant cells. The CT (computerized tomography) scan provides a detailed picture of a patient’s internal anatomy to reveal the location, size and shape of abnormal cancerous growths. Flinn said OAI’s new equipment and building represent a $7 million investment, but she noted that medical imaging is one of the fastest growing facets of health care. Researchers predict that the volume of MRIs nationwide will increase 49 percent between 2004 and 2014, and CT scans are predicted to grow by 58 percent. Medical imaging services in Jackson County also are provided by Medford Open Imaging, which operates an MRI that features a magnet on a large plate above the patient rather than a donut. Flinn said tests such as MRIs can cost as much as $1,800 per study, depending on the kind of image a doctor requests, but the results can help physicians determine whether the treatments they prescribed are working. While the new machine will be more comfortable, it won’t be quiet. MRI’s typically make a loud clanging noise in use, produced by the electric current passing through supercooled metal wire to produce a powerful magnetic field. "They’re still noisy," Flinn said. Reach reporter Bill Kettler at 776-4492, or e-mail Imaging gets a makeover ">[email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback www.bingo.com Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker dvd-r Distance Education Computer Security Ztech Media Hosting Sports Equipment Online Casino Student Loans Online Pharmacy tcg student loan consolidation Online Casino Reviews Myspace Home Equity Loans Windermere Van Vleet Deep Muscle Stimulator Discount Hotel Reservations Southern Oregon Loans Online Casino News Casino Gambling Sites Online Bingo Entertainment Guide Salvia Divinorum Advertisement s