Posted: Saturday, May 22, 2010 12:01 am

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – The new Middle Tennessee Medical Center recently installed a 26,000 pound, $2 million magnet, which is the core component of the new hospital’s MRI unit.

The GE Healthcare Signa® MR750 3.0T magnet is the only in Rutherford County, and the most advanced in the industry, providing radiologists with powerful applications for increased clinical capability.

“The cardiac software available on the 3T MRI allows us to make an earlier diagnosis, which results in sooner treatment, increasing the chances of a positive outcome,” said Britt Mioton, MD, FACC, a cardiologist with Saint Thomas Heart at MTMC.

The Signa MR750 magnet delivers up to 60 percent additional anatomical coverage and resolution unit per time. The system also allows for up to five times the imaging performance over previous generations, increasing the freedom for advanced application development.

The MRI unit is part of one of the most comprehensive imaging equipment packages in the Middle Tennessee area and includes digital radiography, nuclear medicine suites with dual detectors, 4D ultrasound, 64 slice CT scanner with cardiac, stroke and patient dose reduction software, and 3T MRI unit with mammography and cardiac software.

The new MTMC opens Oct. 2 on Medical Center Parkway. Visit TheNewMTMC.org for more information.

Saint Thomas Health Services is a faith-based ministry with more than 6,500 associates serving Middle Tennessee. Saint Thomas Health Services’ regional health system consists of four hospitals – Baptist and Saint Thomas in Nashville, Middle Tennessee Medical Center in Murfreesboro and Hickman Community Hospital in Centerville – and a comprehensive network of affiliated joint ventures in diagnostics, cardiac services and ambulatory surgery as well as medical practices, the Center for Spinal Surgery, clinics and rehabilitation facilities. STHS is a member of Ascension Health, a Catholic organization that is the largest not-for-profit health system in the United States. For more information, visit www.sths.com.