What does 3T mean?

Tesla (T) is the unit of measurement quantifying the strength of a magnetic field. Prior to the 3 Tesla Machine, the high-field standard was 1.5 Tesla. Our 3T MRI generates a magnetic field that is twice the strength of 1.5 Tesla machines and 10 to 15 times the strength of low field or OPEN MRI scanners.

What does this mean for our patients and referring doctors?

We scan EVERY patient on our 3T MRI. Hospitals that have a 3T available may only allow specialty brain, prostate, or orthopedic cases to be scanned on their 3T machine. Our 3T images are more detailed and scan times are shorter. Higher spatial resolution gives our radiologists more information so you can depend on clear results.

Why is 3T Wide bore MRI BETTER than Open MRI for Claustrophobic Patients?

Our 3T MRI has a 70cm Wide Bore and Short Bore. The patient’s body will never be completely in the MRI bore and most claustrophobic patients prefer our Wide Bore over an “OPEN”.
In an OPEN MRI the flat bore is closer to the patient’s face, and only the sides are open. When using OPEN MRI, image detail is compromised and the scan time is longer. On average, an MRI done on an OPEN scanner is about 45-60 minutes compared to our 15-20 minute average scan time.

Our Wide bore MRI is spacious, comfortable, and accommodates up to 550 lbs.

Music options are provided and are available for most scans.

“The scale of the clinical changes spurred by amyloid PET imaging were twice as great as we had anticipated,” Rabinovici told Healio Psychiatry. “Based on the current findings, the expanded availability of these tests would have a major impact on patients by ensuring they get the right diagnosis, the right medications and have the opportunity to enroll in relevant clinical trials.”
-Gil D. Rabinovici, MD

Amyloid PET changed the clinical management in most patients with mild cognitive impairment and most patients with dementia, according to study findings. Future Diagnostics Group is honored and privileged to have been a top participant for the IDEAS study; the nationwide Medicare sponsored study from 2016-2018. Click Here for more information on the findings.

For an Amyloid PET scan please call (815)73003344 ext. 125

By: Abraham King

December 14, 2018 — In a new large-scale trial of CT lung cancer screening, researchers are reporting that screening reduced the risk of lung cancer mortality by 51% compared with x-ray screening in a Japanese population that included low-risk individuals and nonsmokers. Their findings were published online December 12 in the Japanese Journal of Clinical Oncology.

The group, led by first author Dr. Takeshi Nawa from Hitachi General Hospital, investigated the effect on mortality rates of a citywide lung cancer screening program that used both CT and x-ray in the city of Hitachi between 1998 and 2012.

Recent reports have indicated an increase in the risk of lung cancer mortality in nonsmokers in Asian countries, where the incidence of lung cancer in nonsmokers is generally higher than in the U.S. and Europe, the current study authors noted. This trend has contributed to growing concerns about lung cancer in Japan and the support of countermeasures against the disease for individuals who are light smokers or who never smoked.

To determine the value of CT lung cancer screening in Japan, Nawa and colleagues evaluated data for 17,935 individuals who underwent CT lung screening and 15,548 individuals who underwent x-ray screening. They restricted their analysis to include only adults between ages 50 and 74 who also underwent two to three annual follow-up screens, with a mean follow-up period of approximately nine years.

For the CT group, the average age of individuals was 59.1 years, with the majority being male (54.5%) and nonsmokers (55.1%); the average age of the x-ray group was 61.6 years, and the majority of individuals were female (58%) and nonsmokers (67.8%).

Overall, CT lung screening was associated with a 23% greater incidence of lung cancer than x-ray screening, but a 51% decrease in lung cancer mortality risk. The risk of all-cause mortality also was lower in the CT group than in the x-ray group by a statistically significant degree (p < 0.001).

X-ray vs. CT lung cancer screening in Japan X-ray CT Lung cancer incidence 1.1% 1.5% Lung cancer mortality 0.5% 0.4% All-cause mortality       7.6% 4.9% The researchers calculated a hazard ratio of 1.23 for lung cancer incidence, 0.49 for lung cancer mortality, and 0.57 for all-cause mortality when comparing CT with x-ray screening. These figures suggest that CT lung screening roughly halved the risk of lung cancer mortality and all-cause mortality, compared with x-ray screening.

The larger lung cancer incidence in the CT group is likely a result of the improved capacity of CT over x-ray in detecting lung nodules, according to the authors. The majority of lesions identified on CT were 20 mm or smaller in diameter, whereas most lesions of that size went undetected on x-ray until they grew for five to seven years after initial screening.

“These results are consistent with our previous chronological study that demonstrated a 24% reduction in the lung cancer mortality rate among residents in Hitachi city four to eight years after the introduction of [CT] screening,” the authors wrote. “Lung cancer screening using low-dose CT for a population including non/light smokers may be effective.”

Kim, A. (2018). CT lung screening cuts cancer mortality 51% in Japan. AuntMinnie.com.