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August 30, 2005
  The
Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre (TBRHSC) has more
than doubled its MRI capacity by commissioning and launching
a state-of-the-art Siemens unit. This unit, funded both by
the Ministry of Health and the Thunder Bay Regional Health
Sciences Foundation (TBRHSF), is the second MRI at the Health
Sciences Centre. It will add an additional 4000 to 5000 hours
of scanning time to the already approved base MRI budget of
4400 scanning hours per annum.
Based on the challenge set by the provincial government through
the Ontario Wait Time Strategy, each healthcare facility vying
for new MRI funding had to prove that there was a need for
the new equipment, through substantiated patient care volumes
and wait time data. "The Ontario Wait Time Strategy through
its commitment to provincial wait reduction targets, provided
an opportunity for our facility to lobby for a second MRI,"
stated Ron Saddington, President of TBRHSC. "Our MRI
team has worked tremendously hard to ensure that we met those
guidelines for operating hours and patient volumes. Their
business proposal resulted in the funding of our new state-of-the-art
Siemens MRI and the necessary operating dollars to improve
our wait and turnaround times."
To improve access and reduce waits for MRI and other diagnostic
procedures, the Ministry of Health created the Diagnostic
Imaging Replacement Fund to address the needs of those facilities
eligible for equipment replacement and new installations.
"The MOH, has provided this fund to improve the much
needed diagnostic services in Ontario," said Michael
Gravelle, MPP for Thunder Bay-Superior North. TBRHSC met all
of the requirements set out by the Wait Time Strategy, and
the Ministry of Health provided $3 million towards the new
equipment and installation." MPP for Thunder Bay-Atikokan,
Bill Mauro, agreed. "TBRHSC expanded their operating
hours on the existing MRI to accommodate the large patient
volumes waiting for those MRI procedures, and successfully
proved the great need for the enhanced service in Northwestern
Ontario. This second MRI will allow the Health Sciences Centre
to further expand their operating hours by 4000 to 5000 this
year. Our government will invest more than $1.5 million in
new MRI operating funding which will allow the Health Sciences
Centre to hire the necessary staff to meet these new wait
time targets."
TBRHSC undertook a significant construction process in the
Spring of 2005 to reconfigure the area to accommodate the
new equipment. This has resulted in a highly ergonomic area,
with a new reception area, physician access stations, and
a control room area between the two MRIs, where the technologists
operate the magnets and observe the patients.
The MRI, or Magnetic Resonance Imaging, uses high-powered
magnets to detect any abnormalities in soft tissue, thereby
focusing subsequent treatment planning and options. The new
MRI is a product of Siemens Medical Systems, and is their
Avanto TIM (Total Imaging Matrix) model of the Magnetom line.
This particular MRI has enhanced imaging technology, reduced
noise for the patient, and generates high-speed images. This
technology provides 'whole-body functionality', meaning that
there is no need to reposition the patient to image different
areas of the body, and aids in fast and precise evaluation.
It also takes any patient sensitivities into account, enabling
'feet-first' positioning, and weight accommodation of up to
400 pounds. "Siemens has always strived to provide leading
edge technology, continually improving and building upon the
successes of previous treatment and diagnostic equipment,"
stated Andy Hind, Vice President, Siemens Medical Systems.
"Our medical systems provide an incredible range of applications
across the spectrum of healthcare, and the Avanto only reinforces
this mission. This new equipment provides the Thunder Bay
Regional Health Sciences Centre with a system that will allow
for hardware and software interfaces, to utilize the latest
technology and treatment applications with such diseases as
cardiac and cancer."
Along with the funding from the Ministry of Health, the Thunder
Bay Regional Health Sciences Foundation (TBRHSF) has also
contributed to the project. The construction, installation
and equipment totaled approximately $4 million, and the TBRHSF
has committed more than one quarter of that cost. The 'Reduce
the Wait' campaign, launched in the Spring, will provide more
than $1 million to the project. , "The Foundation is
constantly assessing the needs for equipment, programs and
services in the Health Sciences Centre," said Keith Jobbitt,
Chair for the 'Reduce the Wait' campaign. "When we looked
at the scope of the project for the MRI and the efforts already
underway to address the wait, times and increasing patient
volumes, we decided that this campaign was imperative. With
the response we've received from our donors, like the Canadian
Cancer Society, who contributed $125,000 to reduce waits for
cancer patients in our region, it is obvious that this community
recognizes the need and the opportunity to provide these enhanced
services and ensure that our Health Sciences Centre is at
the forefront of treatment and care for our region."
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Click
here to view the TBRHSC Diagnostic Imaging Update - August
2005 (Adobe PDF 660KB)
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