Jacob Enterkin, M.D. / Carolina Pines Regional Medical Center
medical contributor
Latest MRI Techology:
Enhanced Images, More Comfort for Patients
Carolina Pines Regional Medical Center is ramping up
to provide state of the art MRI imaging to our community. There has been a buzz of construction activity as work continues on installing our new GE MRI
machine. The machine is built by our neighbors next
door in Florence SC. All of the doctors here at Carolina Pines are excited about this new addition and our
patients should be as well.
should always maintain control; in our new machine, you get
to control the lighting of the room, the color of the lighting, the
music that is playing, and the television that is mounted on the
So, what is an MRI? The technical term refers to Magnetic Res-
ceiling in front of you.
onance Imaging, which does not help clear things up. Right?
MRI is technology that is able to look at the water molecules in
Many patients have trouble with confined spaces (claustro-
your body and form a picture based on their position. No matter
phobia). To alleviate this problem, the new magnet has a
where at in our body, we have water within our cells. This picture
wider hole that you will be lying in so that you will not feel so
results in exquisite detail of our anatomy allowing radiologists to
confined. There has been talk of an open MRI. We chose not
have the ability to find things that may be affecting your health.
to pursue this option due to the fact that the imaging quality is
substandard. Ultimately, our goal is to visualize any problem
The GE engineers have optomized the machine so that we can get
The good news about MRI is that there is no radiation involved.
that may be present. Also, the new machine allows you to en-
pictures more quickly than we could before. This decreases the
CT or CAT scans are excellent tools for many issues that may be
ter the magnet feet first so that on most studies your head is
amount of time that the patient has to spend in the machine for
occuring with someone, but they have large amounts of radia-
near the exit of the hole again alleviating the feeling of being
their study. They also have developed some images that are ac-
tion associated with them. Radiation dose is cummulative over
trapped.
quired with decreased noise. Right now, this is for the head, however they are continuing to work on others for the rest of the body.
a person’s life, so any option to decrease this dose warrants
consideration.
Because the machine is the newest, most technologically advanced 1.5T MRI GE has available, the image quality is astound-
Carolina Pines Regional Medical Center is continuing to advance
Our new MRI at Carolina Pines is complete with a package
ing. I had the pleasure of visiting the corporate site to see the
the level of care and expertise with the addition of new physicians,
called the Caring Suite; it is the only one available in the Pee
machine in action and was throughouly impressed with its capa-
staff, and now, technology. If you need a MRI, we invite you to visit
Dee area. We know that MRI can induce some apprehension as
bilities. With prior machines, if you had to have a picture done
our hospital and experience the benefits of this wonderful ma-
it often is not well understood. To help alleviate some of this
of one of your joints, that joint was placed in a rigid device to
chine and of our Caring Suite. Please feel free to call or have your
anxiety, we have decided to provide this option to our patients.
obtain the picture. With our new MRI, the device is flexible which
doctor call if you have any questions. We are excited to continue
The Caring Suite provides a tranquil environment with atten-
not only is more comfortable, but allows it to mold to your joint
to take care of those here at home with plans to be up and running
tion on individualized patient preferences. As a patient, you
providing better pictures.
by mid November. Hope to see you soon!
Board certified by the American Board of Radiology/Diagnostic Radiology, Dr. Jacob Enterkin earned his undergraduate degree from Campbell University and medical degree from the Brody School of Medicine on the campus of East Carolina University
in Greeneville, NC. He completed an internship at Trident Medical Center in North Charleston and residency at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC). Dr. Enterkin also completed a fellowship in neuroradiology at MUSC.
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NOVEMBER 2015
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