Fort Worth, TX, 25 January 2007:  Cook Children's Medical Center will soon house the only combined IMRIS Intraoperative MRI (iMRI) operating room/diagnostic room in the world. The iMRI enables surgeons to view high- resolution patient scans during brain surgery leading to improved patient outcomes.

"Cook Children's pediatric neuroscience department annually cares for approximately 16,000 children, making the program one of the largest in the Southwest," said David Donahue, M.D., Director of Neurosurgery on the medical staff at Cook Children's. "The addition of the iMRI demonstrates the institution's commitment to the care of neurological and neurosurgical disorders."

The iMRI will occupy a two-room suite allowing the 1.5 Tesla MRI magnet, suspended from tracks in the ceiling, to glide in and out of the operating room. The system provides surgeons with exquisite digital images of the brain during surgery. Surgeons can employ computer-guided software to better determine the location, size, and often complex shape of a brain tumor, as well as a distinction between the tumor and healthy tissue.

When the magnet is not being used in surgery, it can move to the adjacent diagnostic imaging suite where neuroscientists can perform complex functional and anatomic imaging. This will be especially beneficial to Cook Children's epilepsy patients, extending the diagnostic power of the Epilepsy Monitoring Unit.

"The most common uses for the iMRI system at Cook Children's will involve surgical treatment of epilepsy and resection of brain tumors," said Donahue. "In the latter application, intraoperative images provided by the iMRI allow surgeons to detect and remove residual tumors which may not be readily apparent, even to the experienced eye; surgery can continue until all the tumor has in fact been removed, avoiding another trip to the operating room."

The iMRI is scheduled to be operational in February and is part of a $9.7 million suite. It is estimated that hundreds of children who suffer from epilepsy, brain tumors, hydrocephalus and other neurological problems will benefit from the iMRI technology at Cook Children's. The 16-month Austin Roberts Refuse to Lose Campaign, launched in 2005, raised more than $4.5 million and helped bring the iMRI to Cook Children's.

About Cook Children's Health Care System

Cook Children's Health Care System is one of the country's leading integrated pediatric health care delivery systems. Based in Fort Worth, Texas, the non-profit System includes a nationally recognized Medical Center, Physician Network, Home Health Company, Heath Plan and Health Foundation. Cook Children's mission is to improve the health of children through the prevention and treatment of illness, disease and injury. Cook Children's includes more than 35 pediatric medical offices and specialty clinics throughout Texas. Cook Children's Medical Center is ranked in the top 3-percent of the world's hospitals for its nursing excellence and has a distinguished reputation for the uncommon care and outcomes achieved in its neurology, cardiology and cardiothoracic surgery, neonatology, hematology/oncology and pulmonology programs. For more information about Cook Children's, please call 1-800-934-COOK (2665) or visit http://www.cookchildrens.org/ .