Mobile MRI unit makes its first visit to North Big Horn Hospital

A state-of-the-art GE Signa Voyager magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) mobile unit paid its first visit to North Big Horn Hospital (NBHH) on Thursday of last week. The unit will return every two weeks to offer MRIs to patients in need of the service of the hospital. According to MRI technologist Mindy Miller, five patients were served during the visit, with several more already scheduled for future services.

An MRI is a noninvasive medical imaging test that produces detailed images of almost every internal structure in the human body, including the organs, bones, muscles and blood vessels. MRI scanners create images of the body using a large magnet and radio waves. The service will be made available to patients of North Big Horn Hospital on provider referral on a regular basis. The mobile unit is housed in an enormous van that was hard to miss parked between the New Horizons Care Center and the emergency room ambulance entrance.

To obtain this new service for our community, NBHH has partnered with Monida Shared Imaging, a local Montana-based mobile MRI company. Monida Shared Imaging is a shared-service joint venture, owned by a consortium of rural hospitals in central and western Montana, similar to a cooperative for farmers or ranchers.

By partnering with Monida Shared Imaging, smaller rural hospitals like NBHH are able to share the costs of this expensive technology while keeping the total cost of care down. It also allows rural hospitals to afford state-of-the-art technology that is equivalent to equipment available at larger hospitals. The mobile service also reduces the need for patients to travel outside the community to access services using similar equipment.  

The Signa Voyager is a wide-bore (70cm) MRI system, which allows patients more room in the scanner and provides a patient-friendly design that maximizes comfort and versatility. AIR coils wrap patients like a blanket during the scan. This scanner also offers better image quality and reduced scan times due to AIR Recon DL, GE HealthCare’s deep learning image reconstruction technology. The system can accommodate patients of all shapes and sizes, employs shorter exam times for patients due to improved productivity and faster set-up times and offers a feet-first option that will dramatically reduce the risk of claustrophobia. 

According to technician Miller, an employee of Monida, with certification and more than 30 years of experience operating the equipment, the scans are extremely accurate, meeting the high standards of most providers. She noted that recently installed advanced software has also cut down on the time required for most scans by 30 to 50 percent, often resulting in patients having to be in the machine for 15 minutes or less.

Miller said she’s learned “many tricks of the trade” during her extensive experience on the equipment to maximize patient comfort, including the use of soothing music, warm blankets and essential oils.

NBHH Radiology Manager Julaine Askvig said the mobile unit is a good option for smaller facilities like NBHH, since the equipment is quite expensive, costly to maintain and requires certified staff to operate it.

“We’re super excited to have this available here for our patients, especially since it can be difficult for some, especially elderly patients, to travel outside the community for this service,” Askvig said.