Eighty percent of all Americans will suffer from back pain during their lives. Back pain is the leading cause of disability for individuals under the age of forty-five and accounts for the majority of workers' compensation claims.

A revolutionary Upright Open MRI acquired by EPIC Imaging promises to be the best tool to date for pinpointing the cause of back pain as well as other spinal syndromes in which gravity and weight exert an influence. "For the first time we have an MRI with maximum flexibility relative to patient positioning. That means we can now image the problem as the patient is experiencing it, be it standing, bending, sitting or lying down," explains Dr. Gerald L. Warnock, Medical Director of EPIC Imaging. "This information is invaluable for surgical planning and developing treatment strategies."



The significance of a weight-bearing, physiologic scan adds a new dimension to MR imaging. In the vast majority of spinal syndromes, symptoms are generally most severe with standing, bending or walking. In the reverse, symptoms are often relieved when the patient is lying down. The inability of conventional, single position MRI's to provide a dynamic evaluation of precisely what is happening when the patient is in a weight bearing position is solved using the Upright system. Research clearly demonstrates the power of this new information to change treatment strategies.

The design of the Upright MRI is so open the patient can literally walk in. Claustrophobia is simply not an issue. The Upright MRI is manufactured by Fonar, the company that introduced the first commercially available MRI ever made. EPIC East began seeing patients on the Upright Open in October.

Enhanced visualization of:

	•	The vast majority of spinal syndromes
	•	Suspected Chiari malformation
	•	Knee meniscal subluxation
	•	Standing feet and ankles
	•	Pelvic floor disorders

For more information and case studies, visit http://www.uprightmripublications.com/