Electromagnetic shielding

One of the side efects of the economic slowdown is an increase in used MRI and used CT equipment sales.  If a hospital is loooking to buy pre-owned and refurbished MRI and CT scanners, they have many options to choose from and all save money over buying new imaging equipment.  Companies like Crest Imaging provide turn-key solutions the include RF Shielding, Installations, and even site planning.  As used MRI and CT machine purchasing becomes more popular, companies like Crest hope to continue growing stronger even during times of economic difficulty such as exists today.

Crest has exported our first refurbished used MRI Mobile to Russia. We installed a pre-owned Toshiba Excelart MRI into a used MRI Trailer and after a complete refurbishment job on the MRI system and MRI trailer the system was put on the ship to Russia.

Our next MRI Trailer export will be a GE 1.5T Short-Bore MRI system that will be refurbished and installed in a 2002 MRI Trailer. This used GE MRI system is one of the top of the line pre-owned MRI systems available on the market and we are excited to be able to provide this for our Russian customers.

We also have plans for installing a used Siemens Symphony 1.5T MRI system into a pre-owned MRI Mobile and after complete refurbishment, the complete Siemens Symphony 1.5T Mobile MRI will also be exported.

Exercise is great for building muscles and bones, but what about the brain? With the help of high-resolution MRI, researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) have found that people who practice regular meditation have increased brain volume in certain regions.

The study, published the journal NeuroImage (April 2009, Vol. 45:3, pp. 672-678), found that certain brain regions in people who practiced meditation over a long-term period of time were larger than in a similar control group.

Lead author Dr. Eileen Luders, a postdoctoral research fellow at the UCLA Laboratory of Neuro Imaging, and colleagues said their work confirmed the beneficial aspects of meditation. In addition to having better focus and control over their emotions, many people who meditate regularly have reduced levels of stress and bolstered immune systems. However, less is known about the link between meditation and brain structure.

In the study, Luders and her colleagues examined 44 people: 22 control subjects and 22 individuals who had practiced various forms of meditation, including Zazen, Samatha and Vipassana, among others. The amount of time they practiced ranged from five to 46 years, with an average of 24 years.

More than half of the meditators said that deep concentration was an essential part of their practice, and most meditated between 10 and 90 minutes every day.

The researchers used high-resolution 3D MRI and two different approaches to measure differences in brain structure. One approach automatically divides the brain into several regions of interest, allowing researchers to compare the size of certain brain structures. The other approach segments the brain into different tissue types, allowing researchers to compare the amount of gray matter within specific regions of the brain.

The researchers found significantly larger cerebral measurements in meditators compared with controls, including larger volumes of the right hippocampus and increased gray matter in the right orbitofrontal cortex, the right thalamus, and the left inferior temporal lobe. There were no regions where controls had significantly larger volumes or more gray matter than meditators.

Because these areas of the brain are closely linked to emotion, Luders said these regions might be the neuronal underpinnings that give meditators the ability to regulate their emotions and allow for well-adjusted responses to life’s occurrences.

3T MRI bests mammography, sonography in detecting breast cancer
By Reuters Health
May 20, 2009

NEW YORK (Reuters Health), May 20 - MRI at 3 tesla is significantly better than mammography or sonography for the detection of breast cancer, and can even detect lesions as small as 4 mm, according to a study by U.S. and Egyptian researchers. The 3-tesla, or “high-field strength,” MRI also has greater sensitivity than previous 1-tesla and 1.5-tesla MRI systems.

The President and CEO of Crest Imaging Solutions is Cliff Hess, who has been in the imaging equipment industry for over 20 years. After completing 8 years in the US Air Force and receiving his degree in Electrical Engineering, Mr. Hess was hired by Diasonics Medical Imaging as a Field Engineer. Diasonics was soon after purchased by Toshiba Medical Systems. During his career with Toshiba Mr. Hess received much recognition as a top field engineer, and proceeded to be promoted through the management ranks until leaving Toshiba to start his own business in 1998.

Mr. Hess now owns three companies all involved in different aspects of the imaging industry. Texas Medical Mobile Services, Inc stores, transports, and refurbishes MRI, CT, and PET trailers at their facility in Dallas, TX. TMMS also de-installs, installs, crates, and ships used and new medical equipment throughout the United States and internationally.

National MRI Shielding, Inc is a successful RF Shielding company providing MRI shielding enclosures nationally. NMS is recognized in the MRI shielding business as one of the premiere RF shielding companies in the industry.

The goal of Mr. Hess was to create three separate and distinct companies with capabilities that complement each other in order to be able to provide all the services a customer in the medical imaging industry might require. These three companies now have developed strong customer bases and are all recognized as leaders in the industry.

Although the recent economic downturn has certainly affected profitability, Mr. Hess feels that the diversity of the three corporations will carry his companies through these challenging times and he is confident of continued success.

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Greetings from TMMS! March was yet another successful month for the premier mobile transport experts. We transported multiple mobile MRI and CT trailers for our growing customer base. Our highly skilled drivers continued to impress with their professional demeanor and expediency.Â

In addition, March saw an increase in the number of used MRI and used CT de-installations.  Overall, March was a great month for Texas Medical Mobile Services. As we get further into April, I am in great anticipation of what lies ahead.

Finding a quality company to provide used imaging equipment these days is hard

There are so many scam artists out there it is hard to differentiate between just a small time broker and a real company with quality people behind it. Buying and installing a used MRI system in particular is really scary these days as you never know who you are dealing with.

An MRI Installation is probably the toughest imaging modality to install and there are many issues and obstacles to be aware of. Here are just a few things to be aware of.

• Plan and plan again! One of the top pitfalls particularly for a first-time buyer, is lack of planning. MRI systems take specific power, shielding, cooling, architectural support, and other important planning factors.
• Choose the right contractor. Choose a contractor that has medical experience. MRI build-outs are different from anything else a contractor has probably done. If you must choose a contractor with little or no medical experience, make sure your equipment provider is the best (Crest qualifies here) so he can provide consulting and guidance.
• Be prepared for the unexpected! Construction delays, unforeseen equipment failure, etc..
• Make sure all local permits and zoning requirements are fully understood by all contractors.
• Plan a larger space than you think you need. Leave room for future expansion. You may not want a CT today, but you may need one tomorrow!
• Choose an equipment provider that can do the entire job…Turn-Key. The less subcontractors you have to deal with, the smoother the job will be.

Hello! This is our first blogpost. We are excited to share with the world our knowledge and passion about Imaging Devices like MRI and CTs!