A new imaging system at Blessing Health Center in Quincy, Ill., allows orthopedists to view patients' full range of motion in their spine, neck, joints and extremities, NBC affiliate WGEM reported June 1.
While the patient is moving in the way that causes the pain, the Dynamic Digital Radiography system captures a series of images at a rapid speed and uses a low radiation dose to create a loop or video.
Clinicians can use the images to view a patient's full range of motion, which provides immediate information for diagnosis, surgical planning and treatment follow-up, according to the report.
"There are limitations with static X-rays, as we may not get a very accurate picture of what their neck is doing in motion," Neil Wright, MD, a neurosurgeon at Blessing Health System, told WGEM. "In patients complaining of significant neck pain where all traditional imaging has failed to show any problems, we are seeing with [Dynamic Digital Radiography] what was not otherwise diagnosed."
The imaging system is designed to reduce the need for additional imaging tests, such as MRI or CT, because it provides physicians more information on which to base the diagnosis, according to Konica Minolta Healthcare, developer of the device.
Blessing Health System said it is the third provider in the U.S. to offer Dynamic Digital Radiography.