By: Dr. Philip Chao

MRI Consultants was formed to provide the very best, state of the art MRI imaging to the people of Delaware using a Siemens, 3T MRI scanner. But let me take this opportunity to highlight our sister company BEST OPEN MRI. We created BEST OPEN MRI to offer the very best, high field, OPEN MRI using a Siemens 1.5 MRI scanner called the “Espree.” In truth, the only MRI scanner in the State of Delaware that can compete with the Espree at this time is the 3T MRI owned and operated by MRI Consultants. The Espree is spacious, able to accommodate patients up to 550 lbs. and rated as the least claustrophobic MRI scanner available today. It is also one of the very best 1.5T MRI scanners made today, including “closed” MRI’s. Not only is it spacious, it also makes use of the very latest technological advances.

The combination of 18 channels, TIM technology, and advanced software makes it unbeatable.

Most MRI providers do not want patients to know how OLD their MRI machines really are or to discuss how they have been configured—do they have the latest software and coils? Many so-called upgrades to older machines are basically “technological band aids” designed to improve performance to various degrees. Better, more complete upgrades are obviously more expensive than other upgrades.
Our BEST OPEN MRI 1.5T Espree is the newest scanner in Delaware and among its many advantages is software which can actually freeze motion, making it possible to get a clear picture from a nervous, fidgety patient. This software is called BLADE. In a recent study 100% of radiologists chose the clearer BLADE images over the less clear non-BLADE images. Wouldn’t you want the clearest images possible for your family? If a family member needs to have an MRI, ask some questions. Make sure you get a good MRI. They cost no more than bad ones. Remember also that while a doctor writes the prescription for an MRI (as he would for antibiotics), the patient is free to decide where to go to fill that prescription.

In the past week alone, I can give four real life examples where BLADE helped us make a diagnosis that might otherwise have been missed. First, we had a patient who could not hold her knee still—which would normally have kept us from seeing her meniscus tear. With BLADE, we saw it clearly. Second, using BLADE on a patient with endometriosis allowed us to pick up tiny 2mm implants of endometriosis coating the patient’s fallopian tubes and ovaries. Third, we were able to get a clear brain study in a 7 year old patient with acute head trauma using BLADE, excluding a life threatening blood clot. And we were able to do it without sedation! Did you know that almost all Imaging Centers insist on sedation for children? Young children do not always lie perfectly still. With BLADE, they don’t have to. And, finally, we had a patient (a doctor, actually) who was in so much pain, he simply could not lie flat on the table. The wider opening of our scanner allowed us to position him in the scanner and BLADE gave us the sharp images needed to diagnose a disc herniation. BLADE truly did make a huge difference for these four patients and can make the same difference for you and your family. Ask your Imaging Center if they have BLADE.

MRI is clearly superior to both ultrasound and CT for detecting hemorrhages–particularly important when doing a study of the pelvic area. Using BLADE with quality 1.5T imaging greatly increases the sharpness of pelvic studies. There are no better images of the female pelvis. In addition to generating superior images, MRI has the added advantage over CT of not exposing patients to ionizing radiation—and believe me, you want to avoid radiating your reproductive organs if at all possible! BLADE changes everything. Both of our state of the art scanners do fantastic pelvic imaging—the 3T because of its superior magnet strength; the 1.5 because of BLADE. If you are claustrophobic, have your pelvic scan on our 1.5T with BLADE with your head outside the scanner! (And if you’re still not comfortable, inquire about our FREE IV sedation). Other so-called “open” MRI’s have magnets that are so weak, and out of date, that the images they generate have no comparison to those done on a 1.5T MRI – much less a 1.5T with BLADE. It’s a wonder people still use them. Why take the chance that an inferior MRI scan might miss your tumor or endometriosis?

With regard to pelvic imaging, 3T MRI has a very important role to play. The added strength and speed of 3T allows one to get complete coverage. This is especially important if you are looking for small lymph nodes or small bone metastases. For those of you who do not know, most MRI scans do not actually scan the entire body part. They scan “slices” of varying thickness, and in order to scan more quickly, they tend to scan a certain number of “slices” (typically 3-5) and then “skip” one. 3T MRI is so fast and so powerful that it can scan without the skip – without the gap. And this only takes an additional 4 minutes! This “skipping” results in about 20%-30% of your pelvis not actually being seen. A lot of abnormality could be hidden in that 20% of your pelvis.

In today’s world, access to technology is vital. In these days where you get less and less for your dollar, we are working to make sure you get more and more for your imaging dollar. It is true that a 3T MRI scanner costs almost twice as much to install and run, but we do not charge a single penny more for it. Most articles on the subject conclude: 3T is wonderful BUT it costs [the provider] too much. At our facility, it costs the patient exactly the same as 1.5T. You get the most advanced technology for the same price! Also, given the complexities of health insurance today, we understand that some patients do not have insurance or that some insurance companies may not pay for a test ordered by your doctor … resulting in patients having to pay for necessary tests out of their own pocket. With this in mind, we offer an extraordinary out-of-pocket discount. If you need an MRI, we will work with you to make it possible.

Dr. Philip Chao graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Yale University and was Scholar of the House. He continued his studies at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, receiving his medical degree in 1983. After a transitional internship year at the Mary Imogene Bassett Hospital in Cooperstown NY, Dr. Chao did his residency in Radiology at Brooklyn’s SUNY Health Science Center (1984-1987), where he became Chief Resident. He stayed on to complete a fellowship in Neuroradiology (1987-1988). Dr. Chao has been interested in MRI technology since its very beginning – the first MRI
scan took place in 1981 while he was pursuing his medical studies. The University of Pennsylvania, where Dr. Chao was both a Body MRI Fellow (1988-1990) and a Neuroradiology Fellow (1989-1990), was at the heart of the development of this technology and Dr. Chao was able to work with pioneers in MRI on the first GE Signa 1.5T (tesla) scanner. His advanced research and specializations complete, Dr. Chao left the University of Pennsylvania for a position as Director of MRI in Wilmington DE – a position he held for 14 years. Dr. Chao eventually left that position to create the best MRI center in Delaware, using the very
latest technology: 3T MRI. While 3T (tesla) scanners have been used for scanning research patients since 2002, these advanced, more powerful MRI scanners only became available for clinical use in 2004. Dr. Chao worked hard to bring 3T technology to Delaware and in February 2007, MRI Consultants, LLC began operating the first 3T scanner in the State. 3T is the newest horizon for MRI.

MRI Consultants and Best Open MRI in the Abby Medical Center
1 Centurian Drive,
Suite 107
Tel: 302-295-3677
Fax: 302-999-9897

www.bestopenmri.net
www.mriconsultants.net