GE Silent Scan MRI technology now available at St. Luke’s Warren Campus

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is a radiology study used to help diagnose a variety of injuries and illness, including headaches and head injuries. For patients with headaches and those sensitive to sound, the audible noise during the actual test may be mildly annoying or downright stressful. Fortunately for patients at St. Luke’s, the Silent Scan MRI application from GE Healthcare is now available during MRI scans performed at St. Luke’s Warren Campus. The Silent Scan technology is designed to improve patient comfort by significantly reducing the noise generated during an MRI exam. Instead of the traditional loud clanging sound, the sound a patient now hears is similar to background noise.

“For patients who require a head scan, the softer sound is whisper quiet and can be compared to ambient noise, which produces a decibel level of 74,” says neuroradiologist Pratik Shukla, DO, section chief of Neuro Imaging for St. Luke’s University Health Network. “The Silent Scan decibel level is 77. In comparison, standard MRI technologies produce a decibel level well over 100 decibels, louder than a jackhammer and almost as loud as a rock concert.” This reduction in audible noise can help ease anxiety and may also reduce scan times and the need for repeat scans, since patients are more relaxed and lie still.

The noise an MRI traditionally produces is related to the changes in the magnetic field that allow the slice-by-slice body scan to be carried out, according to Dr. Shukla.  “As the speed of the MRI scanning process increases so does the noise level. During Silent Scan, the reduction in noise is achieved during the MRI using a new 3D scanning and reconstruction technique,” he says.

Patients having an MRI exam at St. Luke’s Warren Campus also benefit from the recently-installed wider bore MRI from GE Healthcare. The technology is 10 centimeters larger than a standard bore MRI, making it a better solution for larger patients and those individuals who are claustrophobic. The depth of the magnet is also shorter, making it feel more open. Patients can choose to be scanned head or feet first, depending on their comfort level, lessening anxiety.

St. Luke’s Radiology Services in New Jersey

St. Luke’s University Health Network is an international show site for GE Healthcare and offers some of the most advanced imaging technologies available today. In New Jersey, radiology services are available at St. Luke’s Hospital-Warren Campus and St. Luke’s Bone & Joint Institute in Phillipsburg and also at St. Luke’s Washington Outpatient Center in Washington.