 The scanner can detect cancer before symptoms occur |
A �1.3m scanner at a Nottingham hospital will be used to search for signs of cancer in thousands of patients every year. The MRI scanner at the Queen's Medical Centre (QMC) uses magnetic field and radio waves to pinpoint signs of cancer - even before symptoms emerge.
A QMC spokesperson said 4,000 patients a year from across the East Midlands would benefit from the scanner.
Sir Peter Mansfield, who invented the MRI, unveiled it on Tuesday.
The machine was purchased as part of the Department of Health's �93m cancer wave initiative, which is funded by lottery grants.
It is hoped the scanner will help the hospital to see all cancer patients within two weeks of referral.
The MRI team regularly scans up to 300 people a month on the machine.
"This cutting edge 3T MR scanner is twice as powerful and faster than standard MRI machines, giving clearer images than ever before - even detecting blood flowing through a patient's arteries and veins," MRI superintendent Andrew Cooper said.
"It also has the potential for virtual biopsies - eventually doing away with the need for unnecessary invasive surgery as it will be able to detect if a tumour is benign and so doesn't need to be removed."
One-Minute World News 
News services
E-mail this to a friend 
Printable version 
