Search
/ News / The maximum waiting time for an MRI scan at Beroun Hospital is seven working days

The maximum waiting time for an MRI scan at Beroun Hospital is seven working days

14. 3. 2014

It has been three years since the establishment of the magnetic resonance imaging department at the Beroun Hospital. It is confirmed that it was a very good decision. Interest in this examination is still growing. In spite of this, the good organisation of the work has managed not to prolong the ordering time too much, and it can even be said that the MRI in the Beroun hospital, with its average of 5 to 7 working days from ordering to examination, holds one of the leading positions among other workplaces in the country with this short ordering time. It is even possible that no one else offers such short times.

14.3.2014

It is clear that MRI has a truly privileged position among all imaging modalities. It stands out above all for its excellent contrast resolution of individual tissues, i.e. the ability to distinguish even tissues with very similar structures from each other. Simply put - in practice, this means specifically distinguishing normal tissue from tissue affected by a pathological process.The principle of magnetic resonance differs from other imaging methods; it does not use X-rays, but the specific physical properties of the nuclei of hydrogen atoms and their reaction in a strong magnetic field. It should certainly be mentioned that no harmful side-effects of this examination on the human body have yet been demonstrated.

The magnetic resonance department of the Beroun Hospital examines almost 500 patients per month, the most frequent request is for the examination of joints, of which the knees. Other frequent examinations are brain and spine. Since the main programme of the Beroun Hospital is rehabilitation care, but also arthroscopic surgery, it is also a very convenient option for patients of these departments to make a quick appointment and follow-up examination by this method in one place.Occasionally, there are also questions about the possibility of examining children and adolescents. It is possible, but only on condition that especially small children are able to lie still. Then they are also routinely examined. Probably the youngest patient was 4.5 years old.

If a person has any electronic (pacemaker, defibrillator, etc.) or metallic implant in the body, or any foreign body, for example metallic vascular clips, etc., it does not mean that they cannot automatically undergo the examination. However, it is imperative that this fact be brought to the attention of the MRI staff so that they can make an informed assessment of the possibility of performing the examination.

Patients from the catchment area of Beroun, as well as from its wider surroundings and from Prague and its surroundings, and even patients from other parts of the country come to the Beroun hospital for MRI examinations. Probably because the waiting times are really quite long elsewhere. Examinations are processed within 24 hours, sometimes even on the spot, by appointment, when it is a really quick assessment of an acute condition. In any case, the referring doctor will receive the examination report - by post or email - within 3 days at the latest. Of course, the patient receives a CD with the recorded examination.

And just for the record: a number of professional athletes, mainly hockey and volleyball players, but also skiers, some actors and one of the most successful Czech businessmen, including employees of his legal department, have already undergone MRI examinations at the Beroun Hospital.