New $1.5 Million Dollar MRI Magnet Arrives At Southland Hospital
A first in New Zealand for the Southern DHB. This with the delivery of a new MRI magnet unit at the Invercargill Hospital on Saturday morning.
The new magnet is part of a new $1.5m MRI and replaces an 18 year old unit.
Brendon Clifford, project manager for supplier Philips told whatsoninvers that the new magnet is a first in that it doesn’t use helium which is a coolant in older magnet and says the new magnet is also lighter at 3.7 tonnes compared to 4 tonnes for the old magnet.
He says the old one will be taken away for recycling.
Southern DHB will have the most advanced magnet in New Zealand and more advanced than anything in Auckland.
He says to get the magnet here has been a mission as it was flown from the USA to Australia then onto Auckland and trucked from Auckland to Invercargill.
This magnet is also the furthest away in the world from Philips HQ in Eindhoven in The Netherlands.
He says it’s just neat to work with something so cool.
There has been a crew here for the last week getting things set up and 2 people will be working full time for the next 3 weeks or so to get the MRI up and running.
