AMI - Advanced Medical Imaging

Exams and Preps > MRI

Advanced Medical Imaging is proud to offer both open and closed MRI for our patients.

MRI is a wonderful imaging tool, which gives great detail of the internal structures of the body without using any radiation. It works by creating a magnetic field, sending radio waves into your body, and measuring the response with a computer. The computer then creates a series of detailed images, or pictures, of the inside of your body, which are then interpreted by a highly skilled radiologist. For some types of exams, the radiologist at the MRI site may want to use a contrast agent ("dye") to better see the body part being scanned. This is a safe material that is injected into a vein in your arm. During the scans, you just need to hold very still while breathing normally.

MRI is safe, painless and non-invasive. The test usually takes between 20-60 minutes. To get the best possible picture, it is important to relax and remain still during the test. MRI complements x-ray and/or CT exams, and can sometimes eliminate the need for biopsy or exploratory surgery, because it can provide such detailed information about your body.

Advanced Medical Imaging offers you a choice in MRI. Our General Electric (GE) high-field (1.5 Tesla) MRI is located immediately behind Harrison Hospital in Bremerton. Being the strongest magnet in Kitsap County, it can in some cases provide the highest detail and the quickest scans. This magnet requires that the patient lie comfortably inside a "tube." Inside the tube is soft lighting, the ability to talk to the MRI technologist at any time, and the option of wearing headphones for listening to your choice of music on CD. This MRI center has received accreditation by the American College of Radiology.

For the patient who would rather not lie inside the tube (claustrophobic), the patient who finds the tube too confining (won't fit inside), or the patient who needs/wants to have a close friend or family member sit with them during the exam (a child, or anyone, for that matter), AMI offers a true Open-sided MRI in our Silverdale Imaging Center.

Because of the magnetic field, you will be asked to leave the following items in a safe place outside the scan room: coins, jewelry, watches, glasses, credit cards, keys, hairpins, removable dental work and any other metal objects. People with metal devices in their body may not be able to have this test.

Patients may log onto www.IMRSER.org to view a video entitled "What to Expect During your MRI Exam" for more helpful information.

Breast MRI

The American Cancer Society announced new guidelines for the 1.4 million U.S. women who are at high risk for breast cancer. They advise these women receive annual MRIs as well as mammograms. This new study, led by Dr. Constance Lehman at the University of Washington Medical Center/Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, also suggests that all women newly diagnosed with breast cancer receive an MRI. The scans revealed cancers in the opposite breast that were missed by mammograms in 3 percent of these cancer survivors.

These are the first guidelines to recommend a screening MRI for women who show no signs of cancer. At the same time these guidelines were announced, the New England Journal of Medicine released a national study that suggested women who have cancer diagnosed in one breast receive an MRI in the other.

The University of Washington study looked at nearly 1,000 women recently diagnosed with cancer in one breast but had no detected cancer in the second breast. MRIs of the second breast found possible tumors in 121 of the women. Biopsies confirmed cancer in 30 of them. The study does not suggest that MRIs should replace mammograms.

Who should receive an MRI?

As many as 1 in 50 U.S. women fall into these categories:

Symptom-less women age 30 and older who have a mutation in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes
Those who were treated for Hodgkin's Disease
Those with a strong family history of the disease, such as women with two or more close relatives who had breast or ovarian cancer or who have a close relative who developed breast cancer before age 50
Those diagnosed with cancer in one breast.

What is an MRI of the breast?

Magnetic Resonance Imaging or MRI is a non-invasive way of viewing body structures without x-rays. MRI uses magnetic field and radio waves together with a computer to create cross-sectional, three-dimensional pictures. Detailed MR images allow physicians to better evaluate parts of the body for conditions that may not be visible with other imaging methods. MRI is not a replacement for mammography but rather a supplemental tool for detecting and staging breast cancer or breast abnormalities.

Why is an MRI necessary?

MRI makes detailed images with a magnet and radio waves - without radiation. MRIs show increased or abnormal blood flow in the breast, a sign of early cancers not visible on a mammogram. They are also better for women with dense, non-fatty breasts.

Do I still need a mammogram?

Mammograms are a good diagnostic tool and can show abnormalities that an MRI may not detect, such as calcium deposits, which are usually benign, but can occur in patterns that indicate breast cancer.

Nothing to eat or drink by mouth 4 hours prior to exam for MRA Chest and / or Abdomen. Nothing to eat or drink by mouth 6 hours prior to exam for MRI Abdomen, female pelvic, and MRCP. If you must take medication, call (360) 377-7226 for instructions. For breast MRI, no preparation is necessary.

MRI

Open MRI

Breast MRI