Last Thursday (April 30) the Cayman Islands Health Services Authority (HSA) and members of 3T Cayman unveiled their new 3.0 Tesla Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machine.

Governor Helen Kilpatrick cut the ribbon at the Grand Ribbon Cutting ceremony held at the George Town Hospital.

Officials said the investment of approx. S5M has put the Cayman Islands at the top of the map in providing highest quality of healthcare technology available for all the country’s residents.

The machine replaces the 1.5 Tesla MRI and provides a significant upgrade that includes faster and higher resolution imaging. The new machine is also wider and will not cause the claustrophobic feeling some patients feel due to the enclosure.

Diagnoses are completed in less than 30 minutes and patients receive a compact disk with their images that they can take to their doctor.

Lizzette Yearwood, Chief Executive Officer of Cayman Islands Health Services Authority, said the 3 Tesla MRI “is an incredible advancement in technology for the Cayman Islands.” She commented on the public private partnership with HSA and 3T Cayman that had made all this possible.

“They are responsible for purchasing the machine, making the necessary renovations and the installation of the machine, as well as staffing it. HSA provides the physical location, and together it has been a great partnership,” she acknowledged. “This tool has been an incredible asset to their delivery of care especially when we have trauma patients that come in that we need to determine what the issues are so that we can start treating them early.”

3 Tesla Magnetom Treo

Tesla (T) is the unit of measurement quantifying the strength of a magnetic field. Prior to the 3 Tesla Machine, the high-field standard was 1.5 Tesla. The scanner generates a magnetic field that is twice the strength of 1.5 Tesla machines and 10 to 15 times the strength of low field or open MRI scanners. The magnetic field produced by the 3T Magnetom Trio MRI System yields exceptional anatomic detail. Thus, if a picture is worth a thousand words, the 3 Tesla MRI is an encyclopedia. The increased image clarity revealed by 3T is particularly beneficial for pathological conditions involving the brain, spine, and musculoskeletal system.

The benefits of the 3T scanner are not confined to Magnetic Resonance Imaging. The increased spatial resolution of the 3T scanner allows for high-quality vascular imaging. Thus, 3 Tesla MR Angiogram studies may often supplant the need for invasive interventional catheter studies.

The 3T Magnetom Trio is extremely efficient. Utilizing shorter scan times, the 3T machine maximizes patient comfort without compromising quality. The superb reliability of high-field MRI allows our board-certified radiologists to differentiate between benign and potentially hazardous medical conditions with confidence. This allows your health-care team to provide you with earlier diagnosis and treatment, subsequently leading to more positive outcomes.

IMAGE: The 3 Tesla MRI Unit brainimaging.waisman.wisc.edu