By Howard Koplowitz
The North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System used to have to turn away obese and claustrophobic patients needing MRIs.
But they can now accommodate those patients after the health system installed an open MRI machine last month at its Diagnostic Imaging Center across the street from Long Island Jewish Medical Center.
“We didn't have any open MRI in the entire health system, so we didn't have an option for patients who were too obese or claustrophobic,” said Dr. Jason Naidich, the Diagnostic Imaging Center co-director.
“We now have a full complement of the technology,” said Dr. Eran Ben-Levi, the other center co-director.
Ben-Levi said the center also has a closed MRI in the building and another at North Shore University Hospital.
Aside from being open enough to test heavy patients and make claustrophobic ones calmer, the new MRI lets physicians position patients with higher degrees of freedom, Naidich said.
Injuries affecting the joints, such as the knees or shoulders, are easier to diagnose through an open MRI than a closed one, he said.
The MRI, manufactured by the Dutch electronics company Philips, also comes equipped with a system that projects images of the beach, jungles and scenes from across the globe with accompanying sounds to put the patient at ease.
It operates at a higher field strength than most other open MRIs, Naidich said, which results in images with higher resolutions.
“The patients absolutely love it,” he said.
The center conducts other imaging tests besides MRIs, including CAT scans, ultrasound, X-rays, PET scans and nuclear medicine, and has a full breast center for mammograms and breast imaging.
Reach reporter Howard Koplowitz by e-mail at hkoplowitz@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 173.
