The Royle Family actress and comedienne Caroline Aherne officially opened UHSM’s new Magnetic Resonance (MR) scanner, which uses the very latest innovations in MR imaging to provide superb high-resolution images.

Wythenshawe Hospital is the first in the UK to install the new Siemens MAGNETOM Aera Scanner. The advantages include completely new magnet and coil technology, which allow better pictures and increased accuracy in diagnosis.

Caroline, who claims Wythenshawe is not only her local hospital but Britain’s best for the care and support it has given her family over the years, says South Manchester should be very proud of the new scanner, which will enable 30 per cent more patients to be examined every day.

“We owe such a lot to the care and dedication of the staff here. To have such a wonderful hospital on our doorstep is so reassuring and to know that the service is going to be even better is truly wonderful. This really is the best hospital in the country and I am delighted that I was lucky enough to be asked to be at this important launch,” she told staff.

Nick Sanderson, Lead Radiographer for MR Imaging at UHSM, says: “MR technology has developed significantly over the last 10 years and the new scanner will deliver far superior image quality and resolution, and will support new scanning techniques such as diffusion-weighted MR imaging which is now routinely used in the imaging of stroke patients, but couldn’t be delivered by the old scanner.”

The size and design of the new MR scanner will improve patient comfort, reduce claustrophobia and accommodate a large variety of body shapes, sizes and clinical conditions, and the super-short magnet allows many studies to be completed with the patient’s head outside the bore. The scanner will be used for a wide range of examinations, including angiography, abdominal and orthopaedic imaging.