A completely different MR exam

 

The big news in Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is the Philips Panorama High-Field Open (HFO) system.  Why?  Because it gives both patients and doctors exactly what they want in a quality MRI scanner.

 

So what’s so special about the Panorama HFO?  It has to do with wide open spaces and ‘high-field’ image quality.

 

Opening up the bore

A ‘bore’ is the cylindrical hollow of a typical MRI system – often called a ‘closed’ bore system.  The magnets are designed in this circular fashion to create a powerful magnetic field.  You lie on a table inside the cylinder and are told to stay very still during the course of the exam.

 

But many patients have difficulty getting into a closed bore system.  Claustrophobic patients, very large patients, youngsters and the elderly can all have problems with the tight confines of a typical MRI.  And doctors may have difficulty properly positioning patients for certain exams. 

 

Philips has the answer.  While we design industry leading closed bore systems, we have also moved to open things up, and have developed the Panorama HFO. 

 

High-field image quality

In MRI, a powerful magnetic field, radio waves and a computer are used to produce detailed pictures of your internal organs.  The ability of an MRI system to deliver quality images is based on the system’s ‘field strength’ - the higher the magnetic ‘field’ of the system, the better the image quality.  So systems which offer high-field performance have several benefits:

• higher resolution – allows doctors to see more detail
• increased contrast – allows them to better see that detail
• faster speed – for less ‘blurry’ images and shorter exam times

 

What’s a Panorama High-field Open?

Open systems are not new, but by being ‘open’ they often compromise image quality.  The Panorama HFO is different.  This revolutionary design, not only does away with the closed bore, but maintains high-field image quality.  Our advanced high-field open system delivers image quality comparable to that of a closed bore system, yet at the same time opens up the cylinder to provide three times more space – almost 360^o of unobstructed view. 

 

Suddenly, those patients who were afraid of a closed bore system or were unable to be scanned in one, have an alternative.  And doctors love it because the Panorama HFO image quality is exceptional.

 

Nothing but rave reviews

A recent Philips sponsored study shows that patient preference for the Panorama HFO is very high.  When given a choice, the majority of patients (72%) prefer to be examined in an open MRI system and consider the Philips Panorama HFO to be the only true ‘open’ system on the market today.*

 

Place the Panorama HFO into a Philips Ambient Experience environment which integrates room design with light, projection, and sound to enhance the patient experience, and the preference jumps fro 72% to 86%.*

 

In an independent study by a U.S. Ambulatory Care Center, 195 out of 200 (98%) patients who were shown a big-bore cylindrical system and the Panorama HFO, said they would prefer to be scanned in the Panorama HFO.*

 

Doctors agree

Image quality is a critical element of any MRI system and doctors who use the Panorama HFO find the open design does not come at the expense of quality.  Here are some opinions…

 

“The Panorama HFO undoubtedly has the best images I have ever seen on an open MRI.” - Eric Shields, M.D, Baptist Imaging Center, Paducah, Kentucky

 

“The image quality on the Panorama HFO rivals that of other high-field systems we have seen.” - Robert B. Smith, MR supervisor, Saint Barnabas Ambulatory Care Center, Livingston, New Jersey

 

So when it comes to an MRI exam, take the time to ask about the Panorama HFO, you may find your next exam to be a completely open experience.

 

 

- November 2007

 

*Feller J, Gossman A, Wolleswinkel M, Patient Preferences in MRI, Philips Medical Systems, 2007, 4522 962 24311/781

 

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