The
Stand- Up MRI is a new imaging technique that offers
important advances over the standard MRI. With this new
modality, patients are usually scanned while sitting
back and watching television, so it is an unusually comfortable
experience for even the most claustrophobic or heavy
set patients. The images are particularly sharp and clear,
because of the advanced calibration techniques of the
magnet. Most important, the Stand- Up MRI allows for “positional
imaging,”
which may be particularly helpful for patients with spine
and other joint disease. Symptomatic herniated discs
and spinal stenosis which can sometimes be missed on
standard recumbent images, may be seen on upright MRI
imaging.
Position-
Dependent Spinal Instability
The recumbent scan in this patient with recurrent low
back pain following laminectomy and L4- S1 fusion is
shown on the left. The Upright ™scan shows a position-
dependent spinal stenosis not visible in the recumbent
scan.
The
Stand- Up MRI is a new imaging technique that offers
important advances over the standard MRI. With this new
modality, patients are usually scanned while sitting
back and watching television, so it is an unusually comfortable
experience for even the most claustrophobic or heavy
set patients. The images are particularly sharp and clear,
because of the advanced calibration techniques of the
magnet. Most important, the Stand- Up MRI allows for “positional
imaging,”
which may be particularly helpful for patients with spine
and other joint disease. Symptomatic herniated discs
and spinal stenosis which can sometimes be missed on
standard recumbent images, may be seen on upright MRI
imaging.
Position-
Dependent Spinal Instability 
Benefits