Frequently Asked Questions

No. Each scan is limited to a specific body area.

We participate with almost all insurance carriers. Please contact our billing department at 269-342-7147 between the hours of 8AM to 4:30 PM to address questions about your particular insurance. Many insurance companies do require prior authorization for MRI scans.

Please contact our facility at 269-342-1099 and our medical records department will make either a CD or films to take to your physician. Since we are filmless, it is helpful to give us 24-48 hours advance notice for us to put your images on a CD or make hard copy films. All CDs and films may be picked up only at our 1700 Gull Road site.

The patient is responsible for providing the claim number, contact name and phone number, and claim billing address. Please also provide the date the injury occurred. If your case is in litigation please provide attorney name and address.

Contact our nursing staff as soon as you know you are due to be scheduled for an MR exam. If you are able to provide us with the following information it may avoid having to delay or reschedule your exam.
a) At what hospital or facility did you have the implant placed?
b) Name of the physician who performed the implant procedure.
c) Were you provided an implant card that you can provide to.
Sometimes we need a few days to research safety indications on implants once we have the above information.

The main difference in how CT and MRI scanners acquire images is in the form of radiation that is employed. CT uses ionizing radiation in the form of x-rays. The x-rays re directed through the body as a thin beam and then into a detector and are reconstructed into an image with a computer. A CT scanner will only acquire images in one plane. These images can then be manipulated via computer after the scan to obtain more information. MRI scanners use non-ionizing radiation in the form of radio waves (in approx. the fm radio range). These radio waves are directed at the body in the presence of a strong magnetic field. These interact with the plentiful hydrogen protons found in our tissues. The result of this interaction is a signal that is detected by the scanner and then reconstructed by a computer. These radio waves and magnetic fields can be manipulated and varied to obtain many different planes and many different types of images.

Results may be obtained from the referring physician three to five business days after the exam has been completed.

The referring physician’s office is responsible for contacting your insurance carrier.

As part of our screening process, it is very important that we find out what types of implants a patient may have. There are types of implants that are never a problem and there are implants that are incompatible with the MRI unit, which prohibit a patient from ever having this type of exam. In addition to asking about implants, it is also very important for us to find out if there is any metal in a patient's body due to an injury or accident. If so, we must take precautionary steps to ensure that the shrapnel or other metal in the patient's body does not compromise their safety.