NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi | North Central Bronx unveiled a new $2 million MRI suite on Feb. 18 at its North Central Bronx campus in the Norwood section of The Bronx, complete with renovated rooms and upgraded MRI screening machines.

 

The new Canon Vantage Orian Encore MRI machines offer faster scan times while delivering clearer, more distinct images, according to hospital officials, who add that the new machines will also boost diagnostic functions and reduce wait time for patients.

 

They said to improve the patient’s comfort, the system uses a video projection to help relax patients with a calming, virtual experience as well as technology that reduces scanner noise to further improve the patient experience. They said the upgrade is funded with support from the Office of Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson.

 

Alfredo Jones, chief operating officer at NYC Health + Hospitals/NCB, said, “We believe in providing high-quality care to our communities. This new MRI system is part of our commitment to enhancing imaging services at North Central Bronx Hospital. Upgrading our existing MRI unit with new technology allows us to enhance productivity and imaging quality while offering our patients greater comfort and safety to deliver outstanding clinical performance.”

 

Meanwhile, Dr. Chinyere Anyaogu, deputy chief medical officer at NYC Health + Hospitals/North Central Bronx, said, “The opening of our new MRI suite marks a transformative moment for NCB. This investment is more than just advanced technology; it’s a promise to our community that we will deliver the highest quality of care, right here at home. By expanding access to state-of-the-art diagnostics, we’re not only improving patient outcomes today, but also building a healthier future for generations to come.”

 

Speaking to Norwood News later, Dr. Bruce Cohen said having an MRI is a very scary environment for a child. “It seems very loud. You hope that some children are able to kind of do it and cooperate with the instructions. Sometimes children have to be sedated in order to go through the exam and also to hold still for the exam.”

 

He added, “You know, fortunately, we don’t do nearly as many in children as adults, but even for adults it can be a scary experience. There are a lot of people who have difficulty being in a confined space. The noise and the idea of the test bothers people. So you work with everybody and try to make it as comfortable as you can.

 

Norwood News asked how long, on average, the screening takes. “Different exams take different amounts of time,” Cohen said. “It varies depending on what body parts you’re doing and what specific protocol they use. So, some scans can be quick – in 15 or 20 minutes. Others will be significantly longer.”

 

Asked if there was anything else he wanted the public to know about the process, Cohen said, “It’s very good for the hospital to have this. Many of the patients that we had to transfer over to Jacobi before to get really high quality scans for certain things, we should be able to do here now.”

 

Norwood News also spoke with Shad Arkorful from MRI technologies at North Central Bronx and asked what kind of prep was done with patients before they go into the MRI room. “Well, we basically just want to make sure that nobody has any metal within their bodies or on their person,” he said. “So, we actually have barriers. So, MRI has zoning. So there’s levels of zoning where first you get checked in by our nurses, and they’ll screen you.”

 

Arkorful continued, “Then, when you get changed, we have a scanner that will make sure you have absolutely no metal in your body and you come to us, then we’ll scan you again, and then we’ll ask you about your medical history, just to make sure that you are clear to go into MRI.”

 

We asked if dental fillings or braces impacted the process. “If you have braces, you should be fine because they’ve actually done a good job of upgrading surgeries into whatever they put into your body in terms of like titanium, like those kind of things, where basically it’s now safe for you to come to MRI,” Arkorful said.

“Before, back then you know, you couldn’t even have pacemakers and things like that, but now they’re making pacemakers that are even able for some MRI scanners so technology is really advancing, and they’re actually like paying attention to the safety concerns that are happening in MRI,” he added.

 

We talked again about the extra trauma for kids who need to get an MRI and the fear that comes with that. “They’re doing a good job of putting more light and making the boards actually just a little bit bigger without sacrificing the quality of the imaging, itself,” Arkorful said.

 

Asked if the darkness gave better quality, Arkorful said, “It doesn’t necessarily have to be dark, but you want your board to just be a little bit smaller. Asked how long a patient would typically spend inside the machine, he said, “Well, that completely actually depends on the patient, or depends on what you’re imaging and the patient themselves.”

 

He added, “Those two things matter the most.” We asked maximum, would could it be. “Well, it depends,” he said. “If you have like let’s say a triple spine that has contrast, they may be in this counter for two or three hours, or if you have just a quick brain that you need for a patient in ICU, that can be maybe like six to ten minutes.”

 

For more information on NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi | North Central Bronx, please contact (718) 519-5000.

 

For some related coverage of NCB, click here, here, here, and here.