First-of-its-kind MRI machine promises to ease anxiety, save lives in Boston
By Jessica Brown
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BOSTON (WCVB) — An MRI can be a critical tool to help doctors diagnose health issues. But, for many patients, it can also be a nerve-wracking and uncomfortable experience.
“I said, ‘If I’m going to get an MRI, you’re going to have to put me under because of what happened last time,'” said Amy Paige, who explained she didn’t realize she was claustrophobic until she got her first scan.
“About halfway through is when the music stopped … and I was just sweating,” she remembered.
Amy got through it, but when she had to get another MRI recently, she was more than a little nervous. Then the team at Tufts Medical Center said they had something new for her to try.
“I could tell right away that it wasn’t the same,” she said. “She said, ‘We can put you in feet-first, we can put you in head-first. There’s music. They project things on the ceiling.”
Amy was one of the first patients to try out the new Philips MRI machine at Tufts Medical Center — the first of its kind in any medical center nationwide. It boasts more room, better music, customized lighting and videos — all designed to put patients more at ease. But doctors say that’s only part of the picture.
“Not only will it save lives, but it has the potential to really alter how we do treatment, planning and therapy,” explained Dr. Christopher Filippi, chief of radiology at Tufts.
Dr. Filippi says the level of imaging this new machine can provide is a game-changer.
“It’s head to toe. We use MRI to image every body part: cardiac, liver, pelvis, prostate, bone, brain. And it really is critical,” he said. “With this machine, it has a lot of advanced imaging techniques, so we can be better at now just making a diagnosis, but using metric derived from these scans to inform treatment, planning and prognosis.”
The new machine is also faster. A lumbar spine MRI that would have taken half an hour is now done in less than 10 minutes.
Dr. Filippi tried the machine out for himself and admits it’s a whole new experience.
“I fell asleep,” he remembered. “I mean, I was watching panda videos, and I didn’t really want the scan to end because I hadn’t finished watching it.”
As for Amy Paige, her fear of getting an MRI is now a memory. And she hopes others will have the same experience.
“I understand what it’s like to have that fear. And you have to decide between your medical care and your mental health,” she said. “So, it was nice that they are keeping us in mind.”
The purchase of the new MRI was made possible by a joint venture between Tufts and Shields Health.
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