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At the Šilainiai branch of the Kaunas City Polyclinic (KMP), patients are already being examined with a new high-quality magnetic resonance image (MRI). Testing with this device takes three to four times less time than usual, and its error is much less.
Many technical innovations
The first tests were carried out the first week on a new Japanese Hitachi Echelon Smart 1.5 Tesla. The introduction of the new device highlights its benefits. “This is an MRI with many technical innovations, starting with very fast sequences that shorten the test duration multiple times. We used to be able to run tests that lasted 40-60 minutes and bothered a person in 10-20 minutes. It also includes suppression acoustics”. As a result, patients don’t need sound-canceling headphones, which is less bothersome to the patient and lessen the study’s fears, “Tomás Budrys, head of the KMP Radiology Center, compared that older generations make a lot of noise.” Also, claustrophobic patients should not experience a feeling of fear. This device also has an artifact suppression system. This protects the radiologist from image interpretation errors when evaluating test data. “
Tomas Budrys: Now we can do research that used to take 40-60 minutes and annoy a person in 10-20 minutes.
In the words of the manager, the quality of the images extracted by this device of the human body, its individual organs or its systems is astonishing.
The new magnetic resonance imaging image on the KMP Šilainiai unit replaced an old worn out device and a device for examining the joints. “The possibilities of the new and old MRI shouldn’t even be compared, the new device is more advanced than the old one,” said T.Budrys.
A wide range of research.
One of the first patients examined on the new MRI was Asta, 32. He underwent a vascular examination of the scalp. “More than half a year ago, while living abroad, I started to feel dizzy. I went to the doctors, but they didn’t test me there. I went back to Lithuania, I went to the KMP doctors. A neurologist recommended an MRI. I hope this test helps. To determine the true cause of dizziness, the doctor will be able to prescribe the appropriate treatment, “said the Kaunas resident, and was pleased that the examination was performed quickly.
The doctors, who immediately analyzed the data from the Asta study, were pleased that the new MRI shows the image of the blood vessels in the head in a very vivid way, even without the use of a contrast agent.
Doctors emphasize that the range of MRI studies is very wide: from headaches to prostate exams. “By scanning the cervical, thoracic, and lumbar parts of the spine, we can examine a wide range of dystrophic and degenerative changes in the spinal area. All structural pathologies, including benign and malignant brain structures, are well visible in the head. can examine abdominal organs: pathologies of pancreas, kidneys, adrenal glands, and spleen can be identified and differentiated, if computed tomography examination is insufficient, according to T. Budris, the new MRI can fully examine the pelvis. multivariate prostate exams, we need specialists who can do it. MRI also examines oncological changes in the rectum and cervix. “
Magnetic resonance images are interpreted by experienced radiologists. The new device also performs examinations of all types of joints. “Magnetic resonance imaging differentiates soft tissue very well, the quality of joint examinations is second to none,” said the head of the KMP Radiology Center.
With a referral from a specialist doctor.
The new MRI should reduce the lines of Kaunas residents waiting for such exams. “We hope that both the diagnostic quality of MRI exams and the availability of these exams will improve now. This will be felt not only by those who have enrolled in KMP, but also by the entire city of Kaunas,” said Raimundas Micka, deputy director of KMP medicine.
Tests on the new MRI are free for patients covered by Mandatory Health Insurance (PSD) who have a referral from a specialist doctor. “I insist on the need to refer a doctor, not a family doctor, because this is a test that corrects an undiagnosed disorder in other ways,” said Budrys. “For example, a rheumatologist will send joint tests, a gastroenterologist will send abdominal tests, etc.”
Precise: The new MRI introduces a number of technical innovations, including a system to reduce research errors. Photo by Vilmantas Raupelis.
The survey response is provided within three business days. “This is a very complex advanced study that requires input from a highly qualified radiologist. Also, the images from the study are very numerous, sometimes as many as several hundred, and all need to be reviewed. There are many image sequences of different parameters and everything it needs to be interpreted, evaluated. ” – the reason why the summary of research results is time consuming, appointed head of the KMP Radiology Center.
What is the difference between research?
A month ago, a new CT scan was launched at KMP’s Dainava branch. Patients have been observed to often confuse magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography. “Unlike a CT scan, an MRI does not emit ionizing radiation, a person does not receive radiation; this test generally does not cause any side effects,” says Budud, “because the operation of an MRI is based on physical laws. completely different”.
However, he emphasized that it was not up to patients to choose which test (MRI or CT) they needed. This is decided by specialist doctors. Furthermore, since the suitability of the research carried out with different facilities also varies. “Computed tomography is designed to detect acute pathology, better diagnose bone pathology, traumatic changes. It is examined faster. And MRI is much more suitable for the brain, and all diseases of the joints and the musculoskeletal system are diagnose better by MRI, “compared the KMP Radiology Center. guide.
Other KMP diagnostic techniques are currently being updated. “We have started a tender for the purchase of ultrasound endoscopes. We are buying six ultrasound endoscopes. The equipment is wearing out and aging, so it must be updated every time. The Ministry of Health (SAM) has purchased new mammograms for the units of Dainava and Šančiai. “They should be used in the near future. Another project funded by SAM that we are currently working on is the renovation of X-ray machines. The five oldest X-ray machines will be replaced in different departments of the polyclinic, “planned R. Micka.
According to the interlocutors, there are only two polyclinics in Lithuania where magnetic resonance imaging can be performed.
According to the KMP deputy director of medicine, if the need arises, examinations with the new MRI will also be possible on weekends.
If you are referred by a specialist doctor, you can register for the MRI examination at the KMP Šilainiai branch by calling tel. (8 37) 282 233.
Patients who do not have a referral or PSD are not insured for the study.
Photo by Vilmantas Raupelis.
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