Tallahassee Orthopedic Clinic expands its ever-growing clinical services with the region’s only GE SIGNA Pioneer 3.0 Tesla — a high-powered MRI scanner that provides a whole new level of patient comfort with adaptable coil designs and acceleration techniques that minimize scan times and improve image quality.

The 3.0 Tesla MRI scanner allows for more sophisticated imagining and therefore more accurate diagnosis. The high resolution images are beneficial when diagnosing and monitoring diseases and disorders that affect muscles, bones, joints and nervous system.

The Pioneer software has the latest technology that produces high resolution images with reduced scan times. The 70cm wide short bore magnet design and feet-first option relieves the sense of confinement and claustrophobia many patients experience with other MRI scanners, reducing their anxiety.

“TOC is committed to providing our patients with the latest in diagnostic imaging technology,” says TOC CEO Michael Boblitz. “This machine will allow us to gather enhanced image quality for our doctors and provide a more comfortable and quieter scanning experience for the patients.” This MRI is an asset to Tallahassee and the North Florida region because it can provide the sharpest results for a broad range of anatomies. Clearer images mean easier diagnoses.

MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) uses a magnetic field and radio waves to produce detailed images. The unit of measurement used to quantify the strength of a magnetic field in the machine is called a Tesla. Most MRI scanners operate at a strength of 1.5 Tesla. A 3 Tesla MRI operates at twice the normal strength, providing a higher quality image.

The GE SIGNA Pioneer 3.0 Tesla MRI allows radiologists to generate multiple image contrasts in a single MRI scan, so that one scan can do the work of many. They are also acquired in half the time, using approximately 50% less power than conventional designs. This makes it more energy efficient and environmentally friendly.