October 2004

Life West gets cutting-edge MRI technology

Students at Life Chiropractic College West will have a unique learning opportunity. LCCW is constructing a $3 million weight-bearing magnetic-resonance imaging (MRI) system. This will be the only weight-bearing MRI operating north of Beverly Hills, Calif., and west of Denver, according to Life officials.

“Sixty percent of recumbent MRIs that indicate people are normal are actually abnormal,” Gerard Clum, DC, president of LCCW told Chiropractic Economics. “The implementation of this technology on a broader scale will change biomechanical applications on all levels.”

Clum said that the technology, heralded as a major breakthrough, will lead to a greater understanding and appreciation of spinal and musculoskeletal dynamics in the normal as well as the abnormal or injury environment.

The technology was developed by Fonar, Inc. of Melville, New York. It has been made available to the college through a partnership between LCCW and TrueMRI, Inc. of Anaheim, Calif.

“Weight-bearing MRI uses traditional MRI technology in the mid-range intensity level, combined with a system design that allows for the efficient evaluation of regions of the body under the influences of gravity and in the positions that yield pain and dysfunction,” said Sana Khan, PhD, MD, a principal with TrueMRI. “The secret of this technology is in its application, which we have been fortunate to help pioneer and refine,” he added.

Prior to the development of this technology, all MRI studies were completed with the patient in the recumbent position. Khan and his associates were among the first to recognize the clinical utility of this technology for chiropractors, orthopedists or neurologists because of their attention to functional states and performance.

The Fonar system requires special site design characteristics, since the unit weighs in excess of 300,000 pounds. The construction at Life West includes building a steel-reinforced concrete pad measuring 15’ 8”x 15 ’4” x 2’ to accommodate the weight.

The MRI facility will be operated by TrueMRI, under a lease agreement with Life West. The agreement includes the partial use of the technology by Life West for research and educational activities. “Since this will be the first of these breakthrough units north of Los Angeles, we expect many chiropractors, neurologists and orthopedists from across the West Coast to refer patients to this facility,” said Clum.

A grand-opening reception is planned for the center as a part of Life Chiropractic College West’s annual homecoming celebration on October 22, 2004.

Source: Life Chiropractic College West http://www.lifewest.edu

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