TUH steps into the future as new MRI machine scans first patient

Townsville University Hospital marked a significant milestone today with the medical imaging department treating its first patient in the new, state-of-the-art MRI machine.

The hospital’s newest piece of imaging equipment, which helps to diagnose a range of conditions including brain tumours, soft tissue injury, multiple sclerosis and infection, was part of a $5.8 million expansion of the medical imaging department and gives clinicians access to the latest in imaging technology.

Assistant director medical imaging Naomi Gibson said the team were delighted to see the new machine up and running.

“The new machine uses the latest in MRI technology which has a number of benefits to our patients including higher resolution images and faster scanning time,” Naomi said.

“Faster scans mean much less stress for our youngest patients and, hopefully, will mean we can simply talk to children during a scan and reduce the need for general anaesthetic.”

Patient Bill Aitken, who also works as a radiographer at the hospital, said he was thrilled to be the first to test out the new machine.

“It’s very exciting,” Bill said.

“I require surveillance scans every six to 12 months so knowing that the machine is going to give even better resolution images is really reassuring.

“The new machine will also shave about 20 minutes off the time it takes for a scan, so I will be out in about 40 minutes, rather than one hour.”

Naomi said capacity would grow with the community.

“Townsville and North Queensland are growing larger every year so having two MRI machines expands our capacity and gives Townsville University Hospital room to grow into the future,” Naomi said.

“Staff are delighted to have access to the latest and greatest in MRI technology, and we look forward to continuing to provide exceptional care to the community.”

MRI technology uses a magnetic field and computer-generated radio waves to create detailed images of the organs and tissues in the body allowing for detailed diagnosis.

The imaging department performs around 5000 scans each year with each scan taking from 30 minutes to two hours.