Cheerleading is the #1 cause of high school injuries today.

Back to school can be fun for students – and a bit dangerous for student athletes. According to the Centers for Disease Control, more than 300,000 student athletes suffer concussions from school sports activities each year. Most require only observational testing, but others can require an MRI or CT. Jacksonville students luckily have Precision Imaging Centers close by.

A concussion happens when the brain hits the skull as the result of a hard hit on the football field or a fall in a failed cheerleading stunt. Two types of concussions exist: simple concussions and complex concussions. Both involve similar symptoms and signs including nausea, headache, short-term memory loss, dizziness, blurred vision, ringing in the ears, slurred speech, impaired balance and aggressive or over-emotional personality changes, among others. The difference is that an athlete with a simple concussion will recover within seven to ten days and primarily will require rest. Complex concussions, however, can take several weeks or months to heal. Victims can have emotional outbursts or recurrences of symptoms associated with exercise.

Unfortunately, students, coaches and parents often fail to recognize symptoms of a concussion, particularly a complex concussion in a youth athlete who walks off the field and initially seems okay. That’s why it’s important for parents, coaches and fellow athletes to keep a close eye on a student who takes a hard lick. It’s important to know that female victims often have a tougher time recovering from concussions than do male victims and that cheerleading – not football or wresting as many might think -is the top cause of high school sports injuries today.

If you believe your child may have suffered a complex concussion, insist that your doctor order an MRI or CT at Jacksonville’s Precision Imaging Centers. We have top-notch physicians and diagnostic specialists and are conveniently located near the St. Johns Town Center. Our evening and weekend hours accommodate the busiest school and work schedules and our prices for scans and imaging exams including MRIs and CTs for Jacksonville area patients often are 80%-90% lower than hospital charges for similar exams. To find out more about scheduling your child for an MRI or CT, call Jacksonville’s top imaging professionals at 904-996-8100 or contact us via our convenient online email form today.

For harried, pressure-driven executives, health is more than a good idea – it’s an imperative for a competitive edge. That’s why Precision Imaging Centers offers comprehensive executive screening including MRI, Cat scans, PET/CT scans and Digital Ultrasound imaging to check for health issues common among management professionals.

Keep your company's competitive edge sharp by keeping your employees healthy with comprehensive executive screening services by Precision Imaging Centers.

Gone undiagnosed and untreated, health problems that are typical among those living in the C-suite can end up costing a company thousands in lost productivity when a manager or high-producing executive falls ill. Regular diagnostic screenings tailored specifically for executives and managers can detect existing and potential heart, respiratory and neurological problems caused or exacerbated by high-stress lifestyles. Working in tandem with a patient’s physician, Precision Imaging Centers offers customized comprehensive screening examinations based upon the patient’s medical and family history, lifestyle diet and career demands. Our cutting-edge technologies and highly experienced radiologists mean more definitive results, allowing for more effective health management.

In most cases, Precision Imaging Centers can save corporate clients up to 50% compared to average hospital charges for imaging services. Plus, mindful of the busy executive’s tight schedule, we offer early morning and late evening hours (7 a.m.-11 p.m. weekdays) and weekend appointments (Saturdays 8 a.m.-5 p.m.).  And physicians have access to secure, 24/7 online results and medical records.

Keep your company’s competitive edge sharp by keeping your executives healthy. Make an appointment at Precision Imaging Centers in Jacksonville’s Southside today.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has issued new interim regulations that will require private health insurers to cover preventative and early detection services, including annual mammography services for women age 40 and older, with no cost sharing or copays in health insurance policies issued after September 23, 2010.

The move is part of the DHHS’ implementation of the recently passed Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and is welcome news to critics of controversial recommendations handed down last fall. The U.S. Preventative Services Task Force, a government advisory panel, concluded that annual screening mammograms for women ages 40-49 who do not have an elevated risk of breast cancer are unnecessary. Their reasoning was that scientists are concerned about overdiagnosis, false positives and unnecessary biopsies and radiation exposure. Instead, the panel recommends low risk women get mammograms every two years beginning at age 50. But many women’s health care professionals and advocates disagree.

“Today’s announcement is a critical step in ensuring the promise of health reform is delivered to all women,” said Nancy G. Brinker, founder and CEO of Susan G. Komen for the Cure. “This new rule means money will no longer be an obstacle for women who want or need a mammogram. Ultimately, this will save lives.”

More than 200,000 women are expected to be diagnosed with breast cancer this year and nearly 40,000 of them will die. However, 98 percent of breast cancer patients survive at least five years when cancer is discovered early, compared to just 23 percent diagnosed after cancer spreads to other parts of the body.

Precision Imaging Centers offers top-quality digital mammography services (both screening mammography and diagnostic mammography) in Jacksonville. We do not require a physician’s referral for asymptomatic women age 40 and older, and we can arrange to have film from your prior breast exams sent securely to our office for comparison. We offer evening and weekend appointments – 7 a.m.-11 p.m. week days, 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturdays for your convenience. Visit our website to make an appointment or call 904-966-8100 for more information.

Bone Densitometry uses a very low dose of ionizing radiation to screen for or diagnose osteoporosis or other bone loss.  It measures bone strength and potential resistance to fracture.

Precision Imaging Centers uses the latest and most advanced digital X-Ray equipment. Older X-Ray equipment uses film in the process of imaging, but digital images are better diagnostically and can be transmitted and stored electronically. Also the process of digital imaging uses less ionizing radiation than film based equipment.

Mammography uses a low dose of ionizing radiation to diagnose breast disease. Precision Imaging Centers uses Full Field Digital Mammography, which produces a digital result that is higher in quality and therefore much more efficient in catching any signs of disease.

Ultrasound technology uses sound waves to reflect off of internal stuctures inside the human body to produce images of soft tissues and organs. The latest advances in medical technology have made 4D Ultrasounds possible. 4D Ultrasounds allow radiologists to gather sequential 3D images in real time. Precision Imaging Centers offers braod Ultrasound services.

Cats Scans (CT or Computed Tomography) uses thin X-ray imaging to reproduce cross-sections of the interior of the human body. Precision Imaging Centers’ 64 slice CT/PET equipment gathers 64 slices simultaneously greatly improving the quality of the image and the reproduced result, while at the same time minimizing radiation exposure and length of the scan.

Precision Imaging Centers specializes in MRI Scans. Using radio waves Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) can gather superior  three-dimensional images inside the human body.  Magnetic Resonance can also be utilized to image the vascular system which is called MR Angiography. The key factor that determines the accuracy of an MRI is the strength of the magnetic field. Precision’s 16-channel, 3 Tesla MRI is 2 to 10 times more powerful than magnets found in area hospitals and imaging centers.

• Board-certified radiologists supervise all exams
• We accept all insurances
• We provide highly secured online medical records and images that are available to you and your physician 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
• Hablamos español.