Elmbrook Memorial Hospital
19333 W. North Ave., Brookfield
www.mywheaton.org/elmbrook-memorial
GE Healthcare
www.gehealthcare.com
Innovation: GE Healthcare’s “Silent Scan” MR scan technology
Elmbrook Memorial Hospital in Brookfield, a part of the Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare system, has made a significant upgrade to its MRI capabilities by purchasing GE Healthcare’s Silent Scan MRI system.
“Once we compared the cost to add Silent Scan to the benefit it would provide our patients, it was an easy decision to add Silent Scan to the purchase,” said Robert Weisbecker, administrative director of radiology. “Purchasing an MRI is an investment of over $1 million.”
Wheaton is the first Milwaukee area health system to implement GE’s Silent Scan system, which brings MR scanner noise from a 110-decibel roar to a much quieter, ambient sound barely heard from 10 feet away.
Charilynne Miller, MRI supervisor, said this new scanner puts the hospital on the cutting edge of the field. When the older scanners were in use, she said, “the floor would be rocking” and noise from the scan could be heard from “a couple floors down.”
Conversely, the new scanner doesn’t even register with a decibel level.
Baldev Ahluwalia, premium MR market segment manager at GE Healthcare, said Wheaton is not only the first in the Milwaukee area to use this technology, but is also among the first wave of Silent Scan installs in the world, as it was released globally less than a year ago.
Currently, Silent Scan is only used for neurological exams and brain scans.
Ahluwalia said the technology, which was developed at GE Healthcare’s Waukesha facility, is a “completely new way of scanning MR images.”
The technology was developed because “acoustic noise of an MR scanner continues to be a significant burden to patient compliance and support in getting an MR scan done.” With Silent Scan, “quality goes up, and the diagnosis will hopefully be more confident,” he said.
Patients at Elmbrook began to undergo scans with the Silent Scan last November. Another of the Silent Scan systems is also being added at Wheaton’s Midwest Spine & Orthopedic Hospital/Wisconsin Heart Hospital in Wauwatosa this month.
Through both prioritizing the new Silent Scan and focusing on the environment surrounding the experience – modeled after a “caring suite” at GE that showcased a relaxed, serene atmosphere – positive results are already evident.
“It’s great for those people who do come in anxious, and let’s face it, when it’s your turn, everybody thinks that there’s something horribly wrong,” Miller said.
Miller said technologists can now talk with patients and give updates during the scan. She said it’s been great for patients who have migraine headaches that would be negatively impacted by high volumes, and for patients who may have limited understanding, such as those who have dementia or have undergone a stroke.
“We’d have people knocking on the scanner before, because they didn’t understand, or crying out. At 110 decibels, that was pretty loud,” Miller said. “(With the Silent Scan), you get much more cooperation, patients aren’t as tense, it’s a win-win.”
“An MR exam is not a great experience,” Ahluwalia said. “Patients understand why they’re going through this test. (Silent Scan) typically gets a much better quality result.”
When people aren’t responding to noise during the scan, Miller said, scans can be more precise and can be completed much faster. Not only is it a better experience for the patient, but it also becomes an easier situation for technologists to manage.
“The biggest difference for us is time,” said Chris McCabe, MR technologist at Elmbrook. “Things got a lot faster for us, and image quality has improved greatly.”
Another difference in the particular Silent Scan model that was purchased is its size. Elmbrook specializes in bariatrics – the branch of medicine that deals with obesity – and the table on the new MRI scanner is larger, more comfortable for patients, and has an increased weight limit without sacrificing image quality, Miller said.
“It’s more spacious for the patients,” said Diane Aird, MR technologist. “They don’t feel as confined and we have more adaptability.”
Ahluwalia said GE plans to expand this technology so it can be used in other types of MR scans.
“Ten years ago, people would have scoffed at the idea (of a silent scan),” he said. “It highlights the rate of change in technology in health care and what we’ve been able to do. MR is a fantastic technology and its evolution is really impressive.”
