Transportable MRIs

Nova Scotia has been working hard to improve access to critical MRI scans. With the support of donors, we have a unique opportunity to offer more MRI scans, in a different setting.

WHY DONORS ARE NEEDED.

Patients across Nova Scotia need access to MRI scans sooner.

For many patients, an MRI is the critical first step needed to have their medical condition diagnosed and treated. That’s why timely action is needed; the longer people wait, the poorer health outcomes they face, like more intense therapy, more invasive surgery, lower quality of life, or a shorter life expectancy.

With the support of generous donors, we are fully funding two transportable MRI units that have the power to significantly impact MRI wait times across the province, bringing MRI technology directly to the communities and rural areas that need it most.

Dr. James Clarke, QEII radiologist and chief of diagnostic imaging, Central Zone, answers your questions about why transportable MRIs are the solution and how your support will directly benefit patients across Nova Scotia.

Your gift today means patients will have access to critical MRI scans sooner and get the answers they need.

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MEETING COMMUNITY NEEDS

Building new hospitals or adding more space to already busy health centres takes time. Delivering care outside the walls of a traditional setting is an innovative approach to increase patient scans. We are moving fast on this vital solution.

The first relocatable MRI arrived on June 10 and is positioned outside of the Bayers Lake Community Outpatient Centre, as the first strategic location that is convenient for many Nova Scotians and where the greatest waitlist exists. Since July, it has scanned hundreds of patients, helping to tackle the waitlist. Every patient who is scanned opens a spot for someone else — no matter where they are in the province.

The second MRI — a mobile MRI – will arrive in 2025. Moving throughout the province to areas of greatest need or where gaps in access exist, bringing care closer to home for patients.

An industrial container is shown outside a health centre with a door that says Relocatable MRI, leading to an MRI inside the container.

The relocatable MRI outside of the Bayers Lake Community Outpatient Centre.

WHAT DONORS WILL MAKE POSSIBLE

Here are some of the key benefits when you support this project:

Increase daily capacity of available MRIs in Nova Scotia, meaning more patients are scanned each day.

Enhance provincial access to MRI services by strategically placing the transportable MRIs in communities with the largest waitlists and access gaps.

Help patients access the most advanced MRI technology as the transportable MRIs are equipped with the latest scanners that offer greater accuracy.

Improve patient health outcomes as more patients will receive the scans they need sooner.

Launch a first in Canada approach to remote scanning that can be done from the QEII, creating more equitable care delivery and addressing staff shortages in some communities.

Share QEII expertise in more Nova Scotian communities, helping patients get specialized scans closer to home and, in some cases, decreasing travel to Halifax.