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Imagine what this will mean for us all.

Welcome to Open Stand Up MRI!
www.openstandupmri.com
The revolutionary design of Open Stand Up MRI allows patients to simply walk in and be scanned. The Open Stand Up MRI allows all parts of the body, particulary the spine and joints, to be imaged in the weight bearing state. The system is equipped with our unique MRI-compatible motorized patien...

Yes, I am claustrophobic, and find MRI's extraordinarily difficult to face--there are several open MRI units in NYC--I called one, and asked about getting MRI for TMJ--was advised would be about 45 minutes for each side to be done--this is much longer than in an enclosed MRI unit.

There is apparently a difference in quality according to one Dr I talked to about this, and drs still recommend the enclosed unit. None of the teaching hospitals are using the stand up yet.
Worth investigating though--for some images needed, the quality might not matter as much, so standup would be acceptable--and as with the enclosed units, there will be advancements made.

NZer1 wrote:Imagine what this will mean for us all.

Welcome to Open Stand Up MRI!
www.openstandupmri.com

Web site down?

Forget the claustrophobic, we could actually look at veins and flow while vertical!

Analysis of blood flow through veins while vertical is definitely the key here. Hopefully it's user friendly , cost efficient, quick , portable and accurate with state of the art imaging technology.
It would be nice if a somewhat portable MRI, that images while vertical, could be brought to smaller communities for less ambulatory patients with all sorts of illnesses. Too bad the devices are so big and heavy currently.

Thanks Sharon for bringing this article back into view. Please read the two articles and keep in mind what the up right MRI can image, and consider the knowledge gain for CCSVI and Angio outcomes.
Nigel
Early on in the TIMS discussion of CCSVI, (2009) we posted the following articles by Flanigan.

http://www.dynamicchiropractic.com/mpac ... hp?id=9049
http://www.dynamicchiropractic.com/mpac ... hp?id=9148

Sharon

PITTSBURGH has a standup mri. i went when i first saw it advertised a few yrs. ago. thought it might show something they were missing. of course my neuro thought i was nuts but he did write a script. my ins. would not pay. i self paid. but, they had a hard time getting a clear picture they said i kept having movement. i thought i was doing pretty good at sitting real still but it is a lot different to hold yourself still sitting than laying especially the neck you think you are still but it don't take much to mess up. plus it takes longer. so, the clarity i ended up with i don't know. really, they need something to really hold you in place so you can't move. maybe they do have something for that now. i know i sure asked and suggested it. i was stronger then so now would be impossible unless they have something like that. "maybe velcro you to the wall" (only kidding) the neuro looked at them but said he did not see anything different. of course he looked at them for a whole 30 seconds. they "do not like it if it's not their idea". i think it is a great idea that's why i tried it. i have better movement when i look up and "no one has explained that" plus all my stuff started right after a bad fall.

so, anyone wanting to try it around PITTSBURGH area just "google stand up mri pittsburgh, pa." i'm sure they are still there. if you are early on and stronger hopefully you can sit real still. or maybe they have something better to hold you in place now. the cost then was $1,000. since the ins. would not pay they charged me $500. don't know what it is now.

All of the highest resolution MRI scanners are tunnels and tend to accentuate the claustrophobic reaction. While patients may find the open MRI scanners easier to tolerate, some machines use a lower field magnet and generates lower image quality or have longer scan time. The better performance of an advanced open MRI scanner allows good image quality caused by the higher signal to noise ratio with maximum patient comfort.

a blurb on one of the upright sites...

http://www.sfopenuprightmri.com/htm/Mac ... risons.htm

While the imaging strength of the Open-Upright MRI is not quite as strong as the traditional tunnel type MRI, it is twice as strong as most open MRI's in use today. When it comes to image quality and the ability to scan a patient in a position their symptoms are in their most severe state, it's hard to pass off the unique abilities of the Open Upright MRI.

and the important info on this upright MRI site is the comparison of results of recumbant and upright positions on same patient:
http://www.sfopenuprightmri.com/htm/Stu ... risons.htm

I never knew I was claustrophobic until they stuck me into an MRI. The surface being so close to my face was very disturbing. This machine sounds like an improvement in that respect. But it can also rotate the patient into either an upright position or supine. According to Zamboni you have to look at both positions to find CCSVI, at least with the doppler ultrasound.

I suppose they could do MRV too? What a darn cool device

i fail to understand why folks who have issues with claustrophobia do not simply close their eyes to avoid the discomfort of feeling closed in.

hahahahahhaha elyse-peace
you are clearly not claustrophobic