Esaote’s New Weight-Bearing MRI Improves Imaging For Patients With Pain

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--For many patients, diagnosing their back, hip, or knee pain is best accomplished by imaging anatomy in a weight-bearing, or standing, position. At the 2013 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons in Chicago, Esaote introduces the new G-scan Brio with eXP technology to give physicians a cost-effective tool for performing both traditional and weight-bearing musculoskeletal MRI exams.

G-scan Brio is an open, non-claustrophobic musculoskeletal MRI system designed for cost-effective operation and patient comfort. New eXP technology is a combination of hardware and software that enables faster imaging exams while decreasing power consumption and reducing operating costs.

Traditional MRI systems require the patient to lie down on a bed and be transported into an immovable tube for the exam. With G-scan Brio, a patient will lie down on the bed, and then the bed and open magnet both rotate on a central axis, enabling the patient to be examined in a weight-bearing position. Physicians can now compare weight-bearing and traditional supine studies to make the most accurate diagnosis.

“For many patients, their symptoms worsen when they’re standing or in a weight-bearing position,” said Douglas Smith, MD, founder of Musculoskeletal Imaging Consultants in San Antonio, TX. “Traditional MRI systems scan these patients in a recumbent position, which fails to explain their symptoms. Consequently, many patients don’t receive the proper treatment and suffer needlessly.”

New eXP technology combines powerful hardware platform with advanced software to decrease imaging time by as much as 40%, which is critically important when imaging patients with pain. Since many patients have metal implants, new Metal Artifact Reduction sequences minimize metal artifacts associated with MR imaging.

source: Business Wire