TOPEKA, Kansas (WIBW) – A Topeka hospital is celebrating a new building that will bring faster work and better outcomes to patients.
Stormont Vail is putting the finishing touches on installing a new MRI scanner at its imaging center, 731 SW Mulvane St.
MRI technician Shannon Green said the 1.5-magnitude magnet is stronger and faster than her previous scanner.
“The stronger the magnet, the better the quality,” she said. “Of course we want to try to get the best possible picture of our patients, because we often examine them for different reasons why they are here. Sometimes it is pain, some people have tumors. We want to offer the best possible examination quality.”
Although it replaces an open-sided scanner, Green said the wider and shorter opening means patients are not entirely inside a tube.
“Some extremities may have the head out or they may only be in up to the hip. So sometimes the patient feels a little better if they are not in at all,” she said.
Getting the huge machine into the building required a crane and using an opening in the roof. But all the effort, they say, is worth it. The increased speed means they can catch up with the backlog of patients. Plus, the machine is made by the same company as all the other machines, meaning all staff are trained to operate it.
In addition, they can offer services at the center that are currently only available at their main hospital.
“The technology is definitely improving all the time and the types of MRIs we do are changing,” Green said. “With this scanner, we’re getting some advanced cardiac packages. These exams are being ordered more and more, so we’ll be able to offer them at two different locations in the future.”
The new MRI scanner can also be used on patients with implants or devices, which was not possible with the old machine with its open sides.
They plan to have it operational by September 1st.
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