Two state-of-the-art MRIs delivered to UCI Health — Irvine

Focused ultrasound and 3T technology enables faster, more complex imaging in convenient location

Irvine, Calif. — UCI Health — Irvine is home to two brand-new MRIs, one of which is equipped with focused ultrasound and highly sensitive 3T technology.

On April 21, a state-of-the art focused ultrasound-enabled 3T MRI was delivered to the new, 144-bed acute care hospital being built on the UCI Health — Irvine medical complex. The second MRI offers the latest 1.5T technology, including integration of artificial intelligence.

The installation of these state-of-the-art equipment was a complex process involving numerous teams, including a crane operator, building maintenance, electricity and other professionals.

The work began at 6 a.m. each day, when an MRI was loaded onto a crane before being placed on the second floor of the building and wheeled to its final home in the MRI suite.

The new MRI machines at Irvine have wide bores, allowing more space for patients during their examination, providing a more comfortable experience.

3T MRI benefits

MRIs with high-power 3T technology enable faster and more complex imaging to facilitate the rapid and accurate diagnosis of a range of conditions.

3T MRIs are especially beneficial when imaging the brain, spine and musculoskeletal system. With high resolution imaging, the 3T MRI enables physicians to see small abnormalities, assess joint stability and identify bleeding.

The focused ultrasound advances the ability of UCI Health neurosurgeons to perform procedures for tremor, including essential tremor, with unsurpassed precision.

“The accuracy means less time in the machine and it reduces the need for additional imaging,” says UCI Health radiologist Dr. Vahid Yaghmai, who is also professor and chair of the Department of Radiology at the UC Irvine School of Medicine.

Because not every MRI examination necessitates the level of detail a 3T MRI provides and some exams require lower field magnets, the decision to use a 1.5T or 3T will be based on the clinical question.

Convenient location

Both MRIs will be in the imaging suite on the second floor of the hospital, directly above the operating rooms and close to the emergency department.

“Having imaging close to the emergency department is a huge benefit,” says Paul Da Veiga, director of planning, design and construction at UCI Health.

“It makes it easier for patients to get their imaging as soon as possible.”

‘Floating’ MRIs

Accomplishing this required a customized solution.

Usually mounted to a slab in a hospital’s basement, the MRIs on the Irvine campus are housed in a room within a room. They are “floating,” sitting on an elevated platform suspended by springs above the slab while braces that prevent swaying provide a buffer between the building’s walls and those of the room.

The substructure is surrounded by layers of copper radiofrequency shielding as well as steel magnetic shielding, reducing noise and vibrations coming from the MRI to the building while also protecting it from external vibrations.