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

A brand new state-of-the-art MRI machine was just installed in Victoria’s Royal Jubilee Hospital this weekend.

The new 3T MRI scanner — which features a 17,000-pound magnet and is double the magnetic strength of current MRI machines — was lifted by crane into the Royal Jubilee on Saturday.

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

See also:

• A new MRI scanner set to open in Nanaimo will reduce wait times on the island
• Vancouver Island’s first ever state-of-the-art cancer screening facility to open in Victoria

“Royal Jubilee Hospital has just received a new 3T MRI scanner!” said Island Health on Facebook.

“It has two times the magnetic strength of current MRI scanners in operation, and will help diagnose complex conditions such as neurological disease, heart disease, and prostate cancer, enhancing the quality of care for our patients.”

The installation comes just two weeks after the province announced that construction of a new MRI had begun at Nanaimo Regional General Hospital.

The medical machine in Nanaimo is expected to dramatically reduce wait times for medical examinations throughout central Vancouver Island once it’s fully operational in Spring 2020.

Meanwhile, in mid-July, the province announced the construction of the first ever PET/CT (Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography) scanner suite for cancer treatment on the island.

The state-of-the art $6.5 million facility will open in Victoria’s BC Cancer centre, and will help cancer patients receive care closer to home, rather than having to travel to Vancouver for scans.