Advanced MRI Resides Permanently on Hospital Campus
Ellensburg, Wash
, Decebmer 29, 2008--- Kittitas Valley Community
Hospital has completed construction
of a modular building which now houses a new magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
machine. Conveniently located on the hospital campus, the permanent MRI replaces
the mobile MRI that was previously parked outside the Imaging Services area
Monday through Friday.
The $1.2 million unit, Siemens 1.5T, 8 channel MRI scanner is a product by Alliance Imaging and is also leased through them. The new building and scanner includes design features to enhance patient comfort and reduce anxiety.
Sharon Davis, Director of Imaging Services at KVCH said, “The new modular building provides easier access for patients with a pleasant and comfortable atmosphere.” Davis also said the advantage to the new unit is the “short bore” or hole that maintains an openness that helps anxious or claustrophobic patients to relax. The roominess of the scanner maintains the field strength of traditional systems and allows MRI technologists to perform specialized applications on patients who could not have utilized this technology previously.
The system offers fast, state-of-the-art image resolution that is capable of routine to high performance applications including the central nervous system, body, joints and vascular structures, as well as gastrointestinal, gynecologic and urologic exams. Eric Lueders MRI Technologist, “We are excited to have the new MRI as a permanent part of our Imaging Department. With the new scanner, we are in the position to serve the community better with an upgraded system which produces better quality images.”
MRI uses radiofrequency and a strong magnetic field, rather than X-rays, to produce detailed images of the body's internal organs and structures including blood flow in veins and arteries. The MRI also has the ability to produce images of the brain and soft tissue areas, as well as disease stages with clarity and detail. Those images provide doctors with a wealth of information quickly and in many cases more economically than other tests or exploratory surgery.
Imaging Services at KVCH offers a wide spectrum of high quality diagnostic services. MRI scans are available Monday through Friday. For more questions regarding the new MRI or other services, please call 509-962-7343.
The open house for the new MRI is scheduled for January 8, 2009 from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
