Weston-super-Mare gets its own MRI

With Weston General Hospital’s first on-site MRI system are Siemens regional sales manager Darren Parker, lead specialist radiographer CT Juttalie Cole, specialist radiographers Tom O’Dowd and Lindsay Bunniss and radiography assistant Cheryl Stafford.

A new x-ray building at Weston General Hospital, part of Weston Area Health NHS Trust, has opened to increase patient capacity.  It includes the trust’s first on-site MRI system, a Magnetom Avanto T-CLASS, plus a Somatom Definition AS+ CT, both from Siemens Healthcare.  Previously, the trust used a mobile MR imaging service that visited three days a week.

The Magnetom Avanto 1.5 Tesla system combines ultra-fast image acquisition with a dramatic reduction in acoustic noise. It was selected by the trust for its high resolution imaging and ease-of-use.  Since installation, the MRI has been performing standard inpatient scans five days a week, reducing outpatient waits.

See the full report on page 36 of the November 2010 issue of RAD Magazine.