Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth officially opened a GBP 3 million magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) suite at a British hospital on February 5, 2013.

The MRI scanner suite has been open to the public since May 2012, and is comprised of two new GE Healthcare (Chalfont St. Giles, UK) MR scanners at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital King’s Lynn (UK). The facility is expected to help substantially enhance local diagnostic facilities for patients. This was Her Majesty the Queen’s first official visit to the hospital since 2008.

The two GE Healthcare installed at the facility, the Optima MR360 1.5T and the Optima MR450w with GEM Suite, will help increase capacity for scans, predicted to increase from an annual 6,600 in 2008 to 13,000 per annum within the next few years.

The Optima MR450w with GEM Suite has been designed with patient comfort in mind. Specifically, the area where the patient lies is wider than in many traditional scanners. Moreover, flexible geometry-embracing method (GEM) coils follow the contours of the patient’s body, allowing easier patient positioning and making for a more relaxed scanning experience. This also makes it easier for radiographers to accurately position their patients leading to a better diagnostic image.

The Optima MR360 also combines well-defined image quality with versatile and user-friendly features, which make it possible to produce high quality images even when scanning challenging areas such as breasts, the heart, and blood vessels. It is also energy efficient, using up to 34% less power than earlier MR technology.

Karl Blight, general manager of GE Healthcare UK and Ireland, explained, “GE Healthcare scanners are a key part of the state of the art suite at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital and we are pleased to be part of delivering diagnostic facilities for patients here.”

Barbara Cummings, director of planning and performance from The Queen Elizabeth Hospital King’s Lynn NHS Foundation Trust, said, “We chose GE Healthcare technology for our new MRI scanner suite as we have been impressed by the quality of the images their scanners produce and the more relaxed patient experience they allow. The Optima MR360 1.5T and Optima MR450w will also make it possible to carry out breast and heart scans, significantly improving the diagnostic facilities for patients in this area.”

The Optima MR360 and the Optima MR450w with GEM Suite are two systems in GE Healthcare’s MR product range focused on humanizing MR. GE Healthcare is continually working to develop solutions for patients of differing ages, body types, and disease symptoms.

Constructed on a clinical application-rich 1.5T MR platform, the Optima MR360 Advance helps optimize patient comfort and improve productivity and performance. Designed to help enhance patient care and advance clinical performance, the Optima MR360 Advance balances technology, a broad array of clinical applications and refined workflow capabilities.

With sophisticated features such as Optical RF (radiofrequencly), the needle-free suite of applications, embedded coils, and an easy-to-use interface, this system helps optimize productivity so that patient volumes can be managed effectively and thus streamline local care.

Related Links:
Queen Elizabeth Hospital King’s Lynn
GE Healthcare