On Feb. 14, 2008, a 28,600-pound, high-powered imaging magnet was hoisted through the roof of a new imaging building behind the Shands Jacksonville Pavilion that was built exclusively for the Siemens 3T TIM Trio and an accompanying state-of-the-art dual source 64-slice CT system. The magnet is the core of Shands’ advanced MRI system from Siemens Medical Solutions.
The 3T is capable of rapidly creating 3-D images of different body parts, including the moving heart. The 3T is so fast that it can scan the entire body in just six minutes. It is also better suited than traditional MRI systems at evaluating abnormalities in organ metabolisms and function before permanent damage has occurred.
With the 3T system, University of Florida physicians and imaging scientists are able to see into the most microscopic corners of the human body. In the heart for instance, it enables them to observe mildly impaired blood flow to its muscle and early scarring.
In addition to the 3T magnet, the new Shands Jacksonville Center for Advanced CT & MR Imaging houses a dual-source 64-slice CT scanner. The scanner, primarily used for imaging of cardiac patients, allows radiologists to evaluate patients quicker than traditional CT technology. Previously, patients having single-source CT scans had to take medication to slow their heart rate for imaging purposes, but the speed of the dual source system eliminates that need in most cases. In addition, the new imaging system provides substantially less radiation than a single-source CT scan.