Bethel Road Open MRI Acquires a
New Open MR System with High-Field Performance

Columbus, Ohio – August 30, 2001 – Bethel Road Open MRI is announcing the delivery of Hitachi’s Altaire magnetic resonance (MR) imaging system.  Altaire is a high-field performance Open MR system that provides state-of-the-art magnetic resonance imaging capabilities with a number of unique features and benefits for both patients and physicians.

With an award-winning open-air gantry design that is completely open on all four sides, Altaire provides greater patient comfort during the MR examination, which helps to minimize the claustrophobic effect and reduce patient anxiety while providing healthcare professionals complete patient access.  This system also allows patients to have a loved one or friend close by during the examination to provide further comfort.

Physicians will appreciate the image quality, patient imaging times and advanced clinical imaging capabilities of the Altaire system that are consistent with conventional tunnel-type high-field systems.  In particular, Altaire offers clinical imaging capabilities such as: magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) with time-of-flight; phased contrast and contrast-enhanced capabilities useful in vascular studies, along with ultra fast imaging techniques in the form of fast spin echo (FSE) and echo planar imaging (EPI) that are applicable in circumstances such as trauma cases.  Diffusion-weighted imaging using EPI for more comprehensive neurological diagnostic procedures and RF fat saturation imaging for visualizing muscoskeletal anatomy are also available on the Altaire.

Bethel Road Open MRI is acquiring the Altaire system to offer physicians and the Columbus community access to the most advanced diagnostic imaging techniques currently available in the healthcare industry.

Bethel Road Open MRI is located at 975 Bethel Road, Columbus, Ohio.  For more information on the Hitachi Altaire high-field performance Open MR system and its capabilities, call Bethel Road Open MRI or visit the Hitachi website at www.hitachimed.com.