From the September 2015 issue of HealthCare Business News magazine


Growing applications
Over 1 million hip or knee replacement procedures are performed every year in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Center for Health Statistics. In addition, the need for arthoplasty revision procedures is growing because of the increase in joint replacements and the younger ages at which they are being performed.

One of the primary areas where MR is used is in musculoskeletal exams. MR can detect tissue damage from metal-on-metal hip implants in both symptomatic and asymptomatic patients. However, it’s a challenge when the patients have metal implants in their knees since a black shadow where the implant is located will often show up on the image. To solve that, GE developed a technique called MAVRIC SL that reduces image distortion in the regions near the MR-conditional metal implants and in some cases reduces the need for biopsy or exploratory surgery.
MR is also being used more in the psychiatry field. In the past, psychiatry departments would evaluate patients with electroencephalogram (EEG) and electromyography (EMG) tests, but now there is much interest in the use of MR. “Ten years ago, I doubt there was any psychiatry department around the world that was buying MRs, but now almost every psychiatry department in every university in the U.S. owns or has access to MR systems to do evaluations of psychiatric diseases, such as schizophrenia,” says GE’s Panagiotelis.

Toshiba Medical America Systems has built a technology called Bianissimo into their MR systems that quiets the exam. Psychiatrists often have their patients undergo MRs to evaluate how a stimulus activates their brains, but if the MR is causing an enormous amount of noise, it disrupts the evaluation.

GE has a technology called Silent Scan that reduces the MR noise by using a 3-D acquisition and reconstruction technique called Silenz along with a high-fidelity MR gradient and RF system electronics. Traditional MRs can generate noise that’s equivalent to a rock concert, but Silent Scan can reduce that to near ambient noise for most head exams.

The use of MR is growing for many applications, but that may not continue into the future. Hospitals are looking to cut costs, and MR isn’t the most cost-effective modality for certain applications. “With health care reform there may be a shift for some indications to more affordable modalities,” says Guy Poloni, director of the MR business unit at Toshiba. “When something is wrong with your brain everyone thinks about MR, but it’s not meant to be the first system used for abdominal imaging.” He believes that abdominal liver applications may shift more toward ultrasound because it’s easier and more affordable to perform.

September 2015 Magazine

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