Dr. Bob Baravarian has a foot and ankle MRI scanner, conveniently offering his patients several substantial advantages.
The ONI MSK Extreme MRI scanner was designed so Dr. Bob could perform high-field (which basically means “extremely clear”) diagnostic images in an environment optimized for patients’ comfort.
“Open MRI” units (where your body does not completely go into a very closed-in feeling tube) usually have inferior image quality compared to traditional MRI machines. However, Dr. Bob’s ONI Open MRI is the world’s only open extremity MRI scanner to offer the quality of a traditional MRI, and because only your foot and ankle have to be inside the “imaging tube,” it is truly fantastic.
How does Dr. Bob’s Foot and Ankle MRI differ from scans at other imaging centers?
Our MRI scanner is specifically designed for imaging of the extremities; therefore, only the joint being imaged is inside the scanner, and the patient is comfortably seated outside the machine. This anatomy-specific MRI scanner provides a quiet, comfortable, non-claustrophobic experience for our patients. This state-of-the-art scanner is not only found at Dr. Bob Baravarian’s clinic but also top hospitals, imaging centers, and leading academic institutions worldwide.
In addition to assessing the ankle and foot bones, the ONI provides our podiatrists with extremely accurate images of small structural conditions, such as ligaments and tendons.
Dr. Bob Baravarian believes in performing thorough scans and capturing more images than similar facilities.
The advantages of the Open MRI study with Dr. Bob Baravarian
MRIs at Dr. Bob Baravarian’s clinic are very different than those taken at other facilities. Insurance companies will only pay for a pre-set amount of time for your foot or ankle to be scanned. This amount of time is only enough to get the minimum number of views of your injury to make a standard diagnosis. It usually consists of just four views, which is often inadequate for the most accurate diagnosis.
There are three main advantages to having an MRI study with Dr. Bob Baravarian’s Open Foot and Ankle MRI
- Our MRI is specifically made for the foot and ankle. Thus, your whole body (especially your head) never goes into any “tube”, only your foot does, so it’s really good in that way. Patients who have done it tell us, believe it or not, it’s actually pleasant.
- We take extra views of the foot with our own MRI machine, unlike other facilities, as mentioned above. Plus, we don’t charge for those extra views because we can only charge a certain amount for an MRI anyway. But we get the extra views because it helps your doctor diagnostically, so it’s standard operating procedure at Dr. Bob’s clinic. Other facilities don’t do that.
- We can tell immediately if the MRI has any issues, such as the foot moving during the study, so some views need to be redone. We check the images before we send you on your way, so you never have to come back if there’s a problem. We retake those views immediately. Not that there are common issues with other imaging centers ‘ MRIs, that’s not the case. But it has happened, and when it does, it’s not fun to have to redo it.
