South Jersey Hospital Offers Quicker Alternative To MRI
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Find out if you need shoulder surgery without the need for an MRI. A local hospital is offering MRI results in the office.
You can find out if you have a rotator cuff tear while sitting in the doctor's office and that can mean surgery or physical therapy starts weeks sooner, according to Dr. Sean McMillan, Chief of Orthopedics at Lourdes Medical Center in Burlington County.
"In the past, if you came to the office and needed an MRI it may take two to three weeks to get the MRI and get back to see me for the results," he says. "Now you're leaving the first office visit with the information in hand and we get you back into your life a lot quicker."
Dr. McMillan says with Mi-eye, the painful area is numbed with a local anesthetic, then a needle containing a camera is stuck into the limb, and the results are seen immediately on a computer screen.
"It can be used in place of an MRI or as an adjunct to an MRI because sometimes MRI's will come back inconclusive," he says. "It's also used for people who have claustrophobia or can't get an MRI because they have a pacemaker or previous metal in their body."
McMillan says the test takes about ten minutes and the results are seen immediately on a tablet.