New MRI scanner arrives in Bendigo

VISION Radiology staff in Bendigo watched on as a new five-and-a-half-tonne MRI scanner was lifted into their clinic earlier this month in a six-hour operation described as seamless by those involved.

Installation of the machine entailed builders, transport specialists, crane technicians, electricians, plumbers, the Siemens and Vision Radiology team working together on the delicate process.

“The arrival of our new MRI scanner is extremely exciting,” said consultant radiologist Dr Marcus Pianta.

“This state-of-the-art equipment will enhance the comprehensive services we offer.

“This will be a significant boost to local health services and will give people in our community greater accessibility, speeding up the process to diagnose a problem.”

Vision Radiology is Bendigo’s newest medical imaging provider offering a wide range of services including ultra-low dose CT scans, ultrasounds, x-ray, bone density, cardiac CT, and dental imaging.

The inclusion of an MRI scanner to its services will allow doctors to diagnose and monitor numerous medical conditions such as cancer, stroke, trauma, and sporting injuries.

Vision Radiology is an independently owned and operated radiology group with clinics across regional and metropolitan Victoria and their skilled team aim to make their services accessible to all in their local communities by extending bulk billing for most of their services, including interventional procedures.

As part of the Federal Government reform to provide critical diagnostic imaging services to more regional and rural Australians, Vision Radiology will be able to provide Medicare eligible MRI services and Vision has elected to bulk bill these services for patients.

Being a new service, they’re able to accommodate patients in a timely manner, at a time when medical wait times are extensive.

Vision Radiology seeks to help reduce the pressure of out-of-pocket costs for their patients and improve disease detection and management for the people of the Bendigo community.

Lead MRI technician Mark Ward said the new scanner will also enable Vision Radiology to provide the most recent innovations in MRI for patients.

“MRI is an important medical diagnostic tool particularly useful for imaging soft tissues such as internal organs like the brain and spinal cord, ligaments and muscles, liver and pelvic organs and other tissues that don’t show up well on x-ray or computed tomography, or CT, examinations,” he said.

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