New state-of-the-art MRI machine officially open for use at Victoria’s Royal Jubilee Hospital

The new magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) suite that was installed at Victoria’s Royal Jubilee Hospital in August is now ready for use.

The new 3T MRI scanner — which features a 17,000-pound magnet and is double the magnetic strength of current MRI machines — is the second new machine installed on Vancouver Island, the first one being at Nanaimo Regional General Hospital.

See also: A new state-of-the-art MRI machine was just installed at Victoria’s Royal Jubilee Hospital

MRI’s are machines that help diagnose a range of medical conditions, like brain abnormalities, tumors, cysts, soft-tissue injuries, and more.

The enhanced 3T MRI model installed at Royal Jubilee works faster than its predecessor and produces higher quality images with shorter turnaround between patients.

“Today, we are announcing the opening of the new 3T MRI at Royal Jubilee Hospital,” said Health Minister Adrian Dix.

“This is another part of our government’s Surgical and Diagnostic Imaging Strategy, which is dramatically reducing wait times for the publicly funded MRI exams people count on.”

The installation of this new medical machine will give the region new capacity to detect and diagnose complex conditions, such as neurological disease, infiltrative heart disease and prostate cancer.

Island Health, Ministry of Health, the Capital Regional Hospital District, and the Victoria Hospitals Foundation all contributed to funding the $6 million project.