New $1.5m MRI machine installed by crane into Whanganui Hospital

Allied Health Scientific & Technical acting director Louise Allsopp has been overseeing the installation of a new MRI machine at Whanganui Hospital. Photo/ Eva de Jong

Whanganui Hospital is installing a new $1.5 million MRI machine that will provide patients with a “less claustrophobic” experience and produce better images.

Due to the size and weight of the machine, it was shifted by crane through the roof of Whanganui Hospital on Tuesday.

The hospital’s current MRI machine is an older model that has been in use since 2004.

Allied Health Scientific & Technical acting director Louise Allsopp said the new machine would make scans less uncomfortable for patients.

“The part of the machine the patient goes into is much bigger which will make it less claustrophobic.

“It’s a bit like going into a washing machine on a table, but you can’t do anything, you just have to lie still.”

In 2023, Whanganui Hospital’s MRI machine carried out 3150 scans.

An MRI scan is used in many instances, such as to investigate the tissue around joints, tumours or for head scans.

It can also pick up emergency issues such as spinal cord compression - when a person’s spinal cord is being pressed on by a tumour or a part of their body after an accident - which can cause paralysis.

“If you think about X-rays looking at your bones, an MRI is looking at the tissue.”

Allsopp estimated Whanganui Hospital’s current wait time for patients to receive an MRI scan is within six weeks.

“We’re not too bad with our MRI wait times for patients here in Whanganui.

“We’ve got a relatively small population in comparison to some of the other cities.”

After the machine is placed in the building the computer and electronics will have to be set up which could take some time, Allsopp said.

“It’s a big investment for the hospital.

“The fact we have to sort of take off the roof of the building and get a massive crane in - it’s a big deal.”

The first patient is due to use the new MRI machine in September.

Eva de Jong is a reporter for the Whanganui Chronicle covering health stories and general news. She began as a reporter in 2023.