Imaging Technology
The Advantages of Digital
Advanced Imaging is completely digital. That means there's no film to process or store. But more important, it means better resolution and greater diagnostic flexibility.
Your healthcare provider can view your diagnostic scan through a secure online portal or on CD. That means your provider can review your scans on a PC or laptop with you right in his or her office.
Since there's no film to process, scan review and reporting are greatly sped up. Usually your scan will be read and your report filed within a couple of hours of your exam.
With digital technology, radiologists can easily move through 3D images of the human body. They can quickly isolate areas of the brain, organs and even specific blood vessels. It's almost like virtual exploratory surgery.
MRI with Signa EXCITE HD 1.5T ™ Technology
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI or MR) is one of the safest, most comfortable imaging techniques available. It combines a powerful magnet with an advanced computer system and radio waves to produce accurate, detailed pictures of organs and tissues in order to diagnose a variety of medical conditions. MRI’s are often used in diagnosing joint injuries such as ligament and cartilage tears, along with detecting injuries and disease within the neurological system.
Signa® High-Field MRI with EXCITE HD 1.5T ™ technology at Advanced Imaging. Like HDTV, HDMR works through a combination of HD hardware and HD programming. HD MR acquisition enables simultaneous use of all receivers to enhance image definition. Also available are alternative scanning strategies to minimize artifacts. Signa EXCITE HD MR provides the clinician with high resolution images to produce a more definitive diagnosis. GE’s revolutionary combination of HD technology and HD applications serves the needs of even the most difficult patients. EXCITE was the industry's first end-to-end design of the MRI data pipeline. EXCITE paired with HD technology further improves productivity and image quality, while delivering advanced applications to handle your most challenging cases. The result is unprecedented speed, resolution, and flexibility - four times the scanning speed, two times the resolution and nearly double the SNR.
Patient advantages include:
- Faster exams. MRIs have a reputation for being uncomfortable. Patients are typically made to lie still for extended periods of time in a very confined space. With Signa EXCITE HD, MRIs take half the time they used to. And less time equals greater comfort.
- Superior resolution. The resolution of our MRI is startling. It's a difference any healthcare provider can see and one most patients can see as well. In fact, it's so clear it approaches the resolution of conventional angioplasty.
- Digital format. All images are captured, read and stored digitally. This results in sharper images with no loss of resolution. It also makes scans more accessible to your healthcare provider. Your healthcare provider can view them via a secure reading site and then review them with you.
The Lightspeed16 CT
What is Computed Axial Tomography?
Computed axial tomography (CT or CAT scan) is a way of looking inside the human body using a special machine. The images produced are cross-sectional, like the slices in a loaf of bread. During a CT exam the scanner takes multiple cross-sectional images. These are created with the help of a computer and are capable of depicting various internal body parts in great detail, enhancing the healthcare provider's ability to diagnose a variety of medical conditions, including cancer and heart disease.
LightSpeed16 CT at Advanced Imaging. The power to scan finer, further, faster.
The fourth evolution of GE's award-winning LightSpeed platform, the LightSpeed16 expands multi-slice CT scanning technology from eight to 16 slices per rotation. LightSpeed incorporates breakthrough innovations that deliver speed with submillimeter resolution and effective dose optimization.
Patient advantages include:
- Faster scan times. LightSpeed16 is 16 times faster than any other technology available in Missoula. With LightSpeed, the scan is over before you know it.
- Superior imaging. Provides improved 2D and 3D images to help radiologists see patients like never before. With full-color, three-dimensional images that healthcare providers can rotate and move through, it's almost like virtual surgery.
- Proper dosage. With technology called OptiDose, LightSpeed manages the dose of radiation so that patients are exposed to only what's necessary. This is especially important when scanning infants or children.
- Digital format. All images are captured, read and stored digitally. This results in sharper images with no loss of resolution. It also makes your scans portable. Many patients get scans downloaded onto a disk so they can review them with their healthcare providers.