Dauphin’s MRI is being installed today.
Crews started lifting the machine into its room around the noon hour.
Petr Kresta, the Chief Operating Officer of Diagnostics for Shared Health, explains what happens after it's put in the room.
“The machine has quite a number of connections that have to be made to the physical infrastructure of the building that has been purpose built to house the MRI. So that’s going to take a number of weeks. Then there are inspections that have to be made to make sure that the MRI is working appropriately and because it is a very sophisticated piece of equipment that testing takes some time.”
“Assuming that there are no problems that have been created during shipping or otherwise the machine is working perfectly, then we anticipate we would begin operations of the MRI in early December.”
Kresta says there are currently two MRI technologists in Dauphin that are trained to use the machine with a third being recruited right now.
He talks about something everyone should know about the new machine.
“It’s important to understand that the MRI is a very powerful magnet. While it is safe for most patients, there are very specific safety precautions that are needed. That’s one of the things the MRI technologists learn when they take their MRI specific training.”
“So it’s really important that anyone who goes near the MRI, whether it’s a patient, a firefighter, a housekeeper, a maintenance person, that they respect the rules that are applied, and that the rules are there for very specific reasons to maintain everyone’s’ safety.
He says it’s not like other pieces of equipment that are quiet when they sit there. The MRI is constantly a very powerful magnet.
