A new spinal imaging system – the first of its kind in the state – is in the final stages of being installed at UNM Carrie Tingley Hospital.
The high-tech machine’s installation coincides with National Scoliosis Awareness Month. Scoliosis is a sideways curvature of the spine that often occurs during the growth spurt just before puberty, though it also can be caused by conditions like cerebral palsy and muscular dystrophy. The cause of most scoliosis is unknown.
Low-dose 2D and 3D images from the futuristic-looking imaging machine are used for confirming a scoliosis diagnosis, monitoring scoliosis curve progression and planning for surgery, if needed. The new machine will be ready for use later this summer.
Commentary: The doctors first asked me to leave the room. I can't remember where I went and whether I was escorted or not, but I left. My parents went to
Special to Prospector
Tina Basich-Haller is inspired by her daughter Addison s scoliosis diagnosis and said her daughter is so brave.
Photo by Jennifer Nobles
Tina Basich-Haller has been an artist all her life. When she wasn’t creating works of art she was touring the world as a professional snowboarder, earning many accolades for her sport and competing in such events as the X-Games. There was little that scared her.
However Basich-Haller met her greatest challenge three years ago when her then ten-year-old daughter Addison was diagnosed with scoliosis, a sideways curvature of the spine.
Basich-Haller used her daughter s original MRI image to create a powerful image. The strongest animal I could imagine was an elephant, so I made the elephant pushing on her spine. I did that piece as a visualization for her. And every night I’d say, Addy just imagine that elephant pushing it straight.