New MRI scans first patient at St. Mary’s General Hospital

Thanks to the MRI at St. Mary’s General Hospital, patients who require heart scans will no longer need to be transferred.

The new magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine at St. Mary’s General Hospital in Kitchener is now operational.

The first patient was scanned Monday afternoon, the hospital foundation says, and three more are scheduled for Tuesday.

The MRI machine is the first at St. Mary’s and the third in Kitchener-Waterloo.

Hospital officials say it will decrease wait times, speed up diagnoses and make it easier for patients to get the care they need closer to home.

“It’s a huge game-changer for the Kitchener-Waterloo community,” Dr. Derek Karanwal, the joint chief and medical director of Medical Imaging at St. Mary's General and Grand River hospitals, said in a news release.

St. Mary’s General Hospital and Grand River Hospital will operate all three MRI machines through a joint program.