Rotator cuff and knee injuries are fairly common among aging athletes stretching the limits of their once awesome physical capabilities. Activities like carrying too much weight, throwing a softball, falling while skiing and other formerly normal strains now take their toll by way of ‘aches and pains’. And all too often, the injury is just under the threshold of ‘constant pain’ and becomes ‘pain occurring when moving in a particular motion.
Solution? For many, dealing with pain simply becomes a waiting game where all activities that require the particular movements are eliminated. Eventually, however, the pain intrudes into sacred activities like hoisting your kids onto your shoulders or, say, walking, and it becomes obvious that the old battle wound just isn’t going to heal itself. ItÍs time to visit your Doctor. Congratulations, you’re now moving in the right direction.
But before your Doctor can diagnose treatment or give you a prognosis for recovery, he or she needs to look at a complete set of radiological images of the effected area to determine exactly what is causing the problem.
This is where medical imaging facilities like Alaska Open Imaging Centers become a valuable asset. Alaska Open Imaging is one of a growing number of facilities nationwide specializing in and dedicated almost exclusively to generating the images needed by doctors to diagnose and treat the various conditions that ail us.
Their tools are highly technical, and require highly specialized training to operate and translate. These include MRI, X-Ray, Bone-density, CT, Ultra-Sound, and PET.
Evolving MRI technology
Over the past decade, as well as a wide array of general conditions, MRI has become the gold standard for visualizing soft tissue injuries like shoulder and knee injuries, as well as a wide array of general conditions. Its ability to see soft tissue from virtually any angle and in slices only fractions of millimeters wide is unsurpassed by any other modality. And doctors often use these images as a guide or map to specific bundle of ligaments or other tissue for repair.
MRI technology has moved forward and with it has come new design and configurations to allow MRI to apply its high detail capabilities to very specific conditions and patient issues, from extremities like hands, shoulders and knees, to the trunk of the body, spine, and chest.
The Open MRI, for instance, allows patients who suffer claustrophobia or obesity to receive the same quality of medical care as patients who are comfortable in tight quarters, and who easily fit into a standard MRI. The Open MRI is, well, open Æ and when compared to the traditional ‘close-bore’ MRI, it’s downright roomy. For many patients, it is the only option for capturing the detail required for accurate diagnosis and effective treatment.
For parents of small children, the open MRI also allows visual interaction that permits the child a greater amount contact and comfort, and the possibility of eliminating the need for anesthesia in cases where this is the only method of effectively completing the MRI.
For doctors diagnosing lower back pain, weight-bearing MRI allows them to see the body as it is when the pain is occurring: under the weight of gravity, sitting, and other trigger positions. This concept has revolutionized treatment as physical issues not visible when the patient lays normally on the MRI can be seen when the patient is in standing or sitting positions.
Other Imaging Options
Changes in CT
The technology of CT scanners has undergone equally phenomenal technological advances in the past few years. The introduction of Helical scanning has improved images and unsurpassed detail compared to the older scanners of a few years ago. It also allows for 3D imaging which has greatly advanced the diagnostic capabilities of CT and allows surgeons the ability to plan their surgical approaches and treatments in a much more sophisticated manner, with some procedures being performed in minutes as a result of the ïmapÍ produced by the CT.
Alaska Open Imaging Centers offer CT services to patients in an outpatient "boutique-type" setting: beautiful, yet comfortable surroundings, with compassionate, highly skilled staff, technologists and physicians to ensure the highest quality of care. Patients have all the benefits of 21st century technology without the added stress of a hospital environment. Of course there are procedures that must be performed in the hospital setting but the most "routine" CT exams can be performed safely in the comfort of the outpatient-imaging center.
X-Ray, Bone- density, Ultrasound, and PET are other imaging options available at Alaska Open Imaging Center for diagnosing and treating specific health issues.
X-Ray is typically used for looking at pathology of the bone structures of the body as well as chest, heart and major organs of the body.
Bone Density testing is considered the ‘gold standard’ for diagnosing osteoporosis and following changes in bone density over time.
Ultrasound services range from obstetrical/gynecological studies to complex vascular imaging procedures such as upper and lower extremity arterial and venous Doppler, used to diagnose peripheral vascular disease, and echocardiography.
Positron Emission Tomography or PET is the latest in detecting cancer and diagnosing Alzheimer’s disease. Using the body’s natural metabolism to ‘see’ cancer or abnormalities, PET is rapidly becoming the premiere tool for diagnosing cancer and monitoring treatment, and other pathology.
Services available in Soldotna include Open-MRI, Bone-density, and X-Ray. Services available in Anchorage include Open-MRI, CT, Ultrasound, and PET.
For more information on diagnostic imaging services available in Soldotna and Anchorage, please contact Alaska Open Imaging Center at 907-260-6501 or 907-330-1220. Alaska Open Imaging is Alaska’s only outpatient facility accredited in Ultrasound and MRI from the American College of Radiology. For more information on accreditation, visit www.acr.org.
Medicine
