Which Machine is Right for Your Clinic: Hitachi Airis or Airis Elite Open MRI

Open magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans are becoming increasingly popular in radiology clinics. This is due to the machine's ability to decrease anxiety, produce clearer images in bones that can be difficult to maneuver and allows people who are overweight or with broad shoulders to easily by scanned. Two popular open MRI machines, the Hitachi Airis II and Airis Elite, both offer patients and clinics clear images with a few different advantages in each model.

How Open MRI Machines Work

During an MRI with an open machine, the patient lies flat on their back. The bed moves as the magnets located in a bar above the bed scan the patient. The walls of an open MRI are not enclosed, allowing caregivers to be present for young patients and those with claustrophobia to not feel trapped inside. Patients must lie very still in order for the MRI scan to be clear.

Hitachi Airis II

The Hitachi Airis II helped to popularize open MRI machines, by providing clear, crisp images with an award-winning design that allowed patients to not be enclosed. With a high resale value and a variety of features, the Hitachi Airis II is still widely used in the United States today. The machine features:

• .3 Tesla strength
• Low annual maintenance costs
• Permanent magnet
• Panoramic imaging
• Costs approximately one-half the price of the Hitachi Elite

Airis Elite

The Airis Elite is a newer model of the Hitachi Airis II. It features the most advanced clinical capabilities, the award-winning design of the Hitachi Airis II and a variety of new features that allow it to deliver sharp, accurate images:

• Multi-array coils that allow for faster scan times and covers more area with one scan
• Fat separation technology that allows doctors to get a true image of the bone or joint being imaged
• .3 Tesla strength
• Permanent magnet
• High resale value

Selecting the right MRI machine for an office or clinic means balancing the cost of the machine with the benefits, which allows the best choice to be made for the patients.

What to Know About MRI Services

Magnetic resonance imaging, more commonly known MRI, is an important arsenal doctors have in helping diagnose disease and illness. MRI exams are used for a variety of different diagnoses, and it is important to know about the scans and what the risks and benefits are.

How it works
An MRI scan is like an X-ray on steroids. Instead of shooting x-rays through your body to see contrasts inside, and

MRI machine uses a magnetic field and radio waves. The magnetic field temporarily rearranges the hydrogen atoms in your body, and the radio waves use the realigned atoms to create cross-sectional three-dimensional images of your insides, which doctors can view from many different angles to get a good look at what is going on in various parts of your body.

Drawbacks
MRI machines are basically big magnetic tubes, although there are open MRI machines that are less confining. MRI scans take a long time, and they can be problematic for people who have metal implants in their bodies. For example, those with implantable pacemakers can't have the scans. The scans also take much longer than regular x-rays and can be very uncomfortable.

Benefits
MRIs are a great tool in helping diagnose illness and injuries. While x-rays work perfectly well for showing a broken bone, MRIs are often needed to definitively diagnose soft and connective tissue damage, such as torn ligaments and tendons. MRI machines also are very good tools when it comes to seeing the size, shape and location of tumors that may be growing deep inside the body. MRIs also can be used to look at the body's critical internal organs, such as the heart, liver, kidneys, blood vessels and arteries. This can help show diseases or the possible risk for things like stroke and heart attack.

If your doctor thinks you should have an MRI scan, you should discuss the procedure and ask questions to make sure you understand the potential benefits and risks of the procedure.

Open MRI Helps All Types of Patients Feel Better During the Test

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) uses radio waves and a magnetic field to show images and structures in the human body. Because computerized tomography (CT) scans, ultrasounds and x-rays all have limitations on what images they can show, an MRI is often preferable to doctors when trying to diagnose what is wrong with a patient.

The test is non-invasive and does not cause any pain. The exam requires that the patient lie very still while the machine brings the patient into the machine. A closed MRI machine consists of a tube that completely envelopes the patient. Because the exam takes 30 minutes to two hours and requires the patient to lie still, some patients experience claustrophobia as a result. An open MRI exam can help patients who have anxiety or claustrophobia.

Open MRI

Instead of a closed tube, an open MRI consists of a large ring that the patient passes through during the exam. The patient lies on a flat table and doesn't have to position their body in any awkward ways in order to fit into the machine. Because of the open configuration, the part of the body that is of interest can be centered in the magnetic field. This allows for a sharper image and better details.

Patients are allowed to wear headphones and listen to music in order to drown out any machine sounds that can cause nervousness or fear.

Benefits of an Open MRI

An open MRI may be especially helpful for:

• Overweight or obese patients who may not fit comfortably in a closed MRI machine.
• Young children who want a caregiver to stay close by during the test.
• Older adults who need assistance.
• Orthopedic patients who need an image of an extremity that is difficult to position properly in a closed machine.
• Patients who are claustrophobic or nervous about being in closed spaces.

Open MRI Procedure

The patient will first be asked to change into a gown and to remove anything magnetic, such as jewelry, hearing aids or glasses. The patient will then lie down on a movable table. A dye may be injected through an IV line to enhance the tissues and structures that are being examined. The patient should lie as still as possible during the test.

Open MRI exams allow pediatric, bariatric, elderly and orthopedic patients a better option than the more confining closed MRI. The open view can cut down on stress and anxiety during the test.

Components of an MRI Scanner

Since the commencement of the first commercial MRI units, MRI scanners have undergone considerable evolution both regarding efficiency and hardware upgrades. Incredibly, most people cannot fully tell the different parts of an MRI scanner. This article will help you understand the various components of the device, and explain the functions of each part.

An MRI scanner has the following essential parts:

• Magnet
• Gradient Coil
• Shim Coil
• RF Detector
• Computer

Magnet

Arguably, this is the most important and expensive part of the machine. The device can be equipped with three different kinds of magnets namely; superconducting, resistive, and permanent magnets. Each of these has its pros and cons. However, most of the MRI scanners in the market utilize the superconducting magnet. Magnets are used to produce stable magnetic fields necessary for image capture in the MRI.

Gradient Coil

Within the magnet assembly, you will find gradient coils used to generate different gradients during the imaging process. In a resting state, the MRI's magnetic fields are uniform and consistent over the patient's body region to be scanned. During the imaging, however, the magnetic fields have to be distorted with varying gradients. A gradient can be described as a change in the strength of magnetic field from a point to the other within the patient's body.

Shimming Coils

An MRI scanner has different parts that tend to interfere with the uniform magnetic fields required. These materials result in distorted magnetic fields that need to be made homogeneous. A shim coil is used to streamline the distorted magnetic fields and help in producing a clear and visible image.

RF Detector

RF detectors are located comparatively closer to the patient's body within the magnet assembly. The RF detector's function is to act as the antennae for transmitting signals from the tissue to the scanner, and vice versa to produce the image. The RF detector makes use of energy in the form of non-ionizing radiation.

Computer

An MRI scanner is a sophisticated system that utilizes numerous specific steps and sequences to produce a clear image. These sequences and steps are controlled by a digital computer that is an integral part of the scanner.