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Improving Patient Care with new MRI

Posted on 7/17/2003

Installation of the first in-house MRI unit at St. Alexius has kept the St. Alexius Radiology and Engineering departments busy the past month. Installation began the morning of Monday, June 16, 2003, and is scheduled to be completed by the end of July. Dewey Schlittenhard, directory of Ancillary Services at St. Alexius, said the MRI should be ready to start receiving patients by August 1.

Although the MRI is the third unit in the area, this recent addition to St. Alexius offers the latest MRI technology available in the world. According to Jeff Kaul, St. Alexius lead MRI technologist, St. Alexius will be able to do MRI scans that could not previously be performed in Bismarck.

The fact that St. Alexius now has an MRI on campus is a huge benefit. Patients no longer need to be transferred to the Regional MRI Center, (patients are currently transferred via ambulance). The elimination of transfer time and costs were two reasons St. Alexius purchased an MRI for in-house use, but the main reason was to enhance and improve patient care. For example, critically injured patients will be able to get an MRI without having to leave the hospital which allows for more efficient emergency care.

“This is an opportunity for treatment and diagnosis on site,” Schlittenhard said. “How do you put a price tag on that?”

MRI Fun Facts

* The MRI unit alone weighs 12,700 pounds.

* The magnet in the new MRI is stronger than the magnet used to pick up cars in a junkyard.

* The floor in the MRI room had to be braced to hold six tons.

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