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Rescue Pod Measures 7 Inches Smaller than MRI

Yesterday the Today Show  compared the Chilean miners’ rescue pod to an MRI.  This comparison is one to which many people can relate.

The average MRI has an opening of 23 inches and the rescue pod that successfully brought the 33 trapped miners 2,300 feet to the surface was only 20 inches in diameter.

People with claustrophobia  often struggle with getting an MRI, but there is an MRI in Wake County designed especially for people who are claustrophobic.  The Open Bore MRI at WakeMed Apex Healthplex has an opening of nearly 27 inches, which offers almost 1 foot of free space between a patient’s head and the magnet.  To put this in perspective, the Open Bore MRI’s opening is a full 7 inches larger than the miners’ rescue pod.

Click here to see a virtual tour of the Open Bore MRI.

Magda Vandyk is a radiology supervisor at WakeMed Apex Healthplex.

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