The Cardiovascular MRI Center at Oklahoma Heart Institute (OHI) was established in Tulsa in February 1999 by Dr. Edward T. Martin in the OHI South Pointe Offices on Mingo Road. It was the first outpatient cardiovascular MRI department in a private practice in the United States. The Center began operations using a General Electric (GE) Signa CVi 1.5 Tesla MRI system and was a member of the original GE cardiovascular MRI development program.
The Center has been a clinic research site for multiple companies over the years to help with clinical development of MR hardware, software, supplies and coils. These companies have included GE, Guidant Corporation, W.L. Gore and Associates, Invivo corporation, Mallinckrodt, Berlex, ScanMed, Astellas and Siemens.
In addition to performing over 3000 clinical cardiovascular MRI studies per year, the Center has participated in numerous multi-center MRI research trials as well as multiple home-grown research studies.
Oklahoma Heart Institute was the first MRI center in the world to perform a clinical research study on MRI patients with pacemakers and implantable cardioverter defibrillators. Pacemaker patients in need of MRI have come to Tulsa from all around the United States for medically necessary studies.
The Center expanded to two locations after Oklahoma Heart Institute was purchased by Ardent Health Services in April of 2008. The second location officially opened in December 2008 at the Oklahoma Heart Institute Heart Hospital. The two locations now form Oklahoma Heart Institute MRI Department at Hillcrest Medical Center. In December 2008, the Department replaced the GE MRI system with two 1.5 Tesla Siemens Avanto MR Scanners. Oklahoma Heart Institute physicians are now working closely with Siemens scientists to improve operator ease-of-use, diagnostic quality and through-put.
The Department continues as a physician and technologist training site in both cardiac and vascular MR. It also remains a regional, national and international cardiovascular MRI referral center for both adults and children.
The Oklahoma Heart Institute has a remarkable history of accomplishments since its inception. Celebrating our 26th year on March 3, 2025, OHI performed our first study on the same date in 1999. Among our groundbreaking achievements, OHI became the first to conduct cardiovascular MRI in private practice cardiology in the United States, making this powerful technology accessible beyond academic medical centers. From performing 300 clinical studies in our first year, our institute now conducts over 3,000 studies annually. With a national and international reputation, OHI has treated patients from across the United States, as well as the Middle East, Mexico, and Croatia. Our institute has also played a significant role in clinical research, participating in 36 trials, two of which were initiated at OHI.
Our contributions to medical literature are also substantial, with many scientific abstracts, peer-reviewed manuscripts and book chapters published in high-impact journals like The New England Journal of Medicine, Journal of the American College of Cardiology, and Circulation. Our institute made history as the first MRI center to perform unrestricted clinical MRI studies at 1.5 Tesla on patients with pacemakers and Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillators (ICDs). This groundbreaking research published in 2004 remains the most cited paper in the field and has revolutionized MRI practice globally. Our institute has also played a significant role in clinical research, participating in over 35 trials.