NHS and private patients will be able to benefit from new technology that will provide a more comfortable experience and better diagnostic facility for patients needing a scan.
A state-of-the-art MRI scanner has been installed at Impington’s Spire Cambridge Lea Hospital, offering patients a more comfortable experience and more advanced technology to support their diagnoses.
Around 23 patients a day will be able to have a scan using the new equipment. Their scans will be reviewed by expert radiologists who will be able to diagnose and advise on a range of medical conditions, including neurological, cancer, gynaecological, urological, vascular, orthopaedic and spinal-related issues.
Some NHS patients with hip or knee problems will also have use of the new scanner thanks to a partnership between Spire and NHS England.
Comfort and reassurance
The new £1.4m scanner uses sensors to estimate different patient sizes and body types, meaning patients can spend the least amount of time possible inside the equipment – an experience that can be very distressing.
The hospital explained: “The tunnel width is larger than previous scanners and the length of the tunnel is smaller giving the scanner a lighter airier feel. This helps patients who suffer with claustrophobia, because they do not feel as enclosed, and reduced noise and mood lighting produces a calm and relaxed environment during a time that can be stressful for some patients.”
A camera inside the tunnel lets technicians monitor patients during scans, while the new technology combines hardware and software components to reduce distortion when imaging the head, neck and spine.
Support during the pandemic and beyond
and Alan Rout, Imaging Manager
Spire Cambridge Lea played an important role in helping to keep services going during the pandemic, providing cancer and other services for NHS patients while local NHS Trusts needed to focus on treating Covid patients.
The hospital cared for over 5,000 NHS patients in total, 3,000 for urgent cancer services and 2,000 for other types of urgent surgery between March 2020 and March 2021.
Lucy Frazer, MP for Cambridgeshire South East, cut the ribbon to officially open the new equipment. Hospital Director Neil McCullough, said: “We were delighted Lucy Frazer was able to join us and celebrate the new scanner coming into service… The build time for this project, including the removal of the old scanner to commissioning the new, has been three months.
“I’d like to thank my team and I’m proud we will have the ability to scan a wide range of conditions from cardiac patients to whole body MRI for myeloma patients.”