Boost for MRI scanning promised

The NHS is to purchase or hire a number of mobile MRI scanners to boost the use of the technology, it was announced yesterday.

Health secretary John Reid wants to sign a five year deal to bring in state of the art mobile scanning technology.

According to yesterday's announcement, bidders should be able to provide the NHS with 80,000 scans a year, increasing the number performed by ten per cent.

Mr Reid said: "MRI scans help diagnose many cancers and other serious conditions such as: congenital disorders; acute or chronic migraine and headaches; epilepsy; bone infections; severe back pain; coronary heart disease; high blood pressure and chest pains.

"Significant investments in MRI and other techniques have already made strong headway, but waiting lists remain across England for this key diagnostic procedure and we need to do more to improve this situation.

"Supplying the NHS with new, mobile, state of the art MRI scanners and highly qualified staff will help cut waiting times across England."

However a breakthrough announced by British researchers yesterday cast doubt on how long the technology would stay state of the art.

The Oxford University researchers said their new version of MRI would offer greater quality and clarity of images of the deep organs of the body.

They have achieved this by a new "simple" design of the MRI surface coil.

Isis, the university's technology transfer company, said the design had been patented and was available for licensing.