The London Clinic’s UK first

The London Clinic, based in the Harley Street Medical Area, is the first in the UK to install the new Siemens MAGNETOM Vida 3T MRI scanner that offers high quality diagnostic imaging  to patients with cancer, orthopaedic (spine, shoulders, knees and hips), urology (prostate and bladder) and neurology (brain) conditions.

A 3T (3 Tesla) MRI scanner works by generating a magnetic field that is twice the strength of other 1.5 Tesla scanners that are widely available in other hospitals. The image clarity and detail is particularly beneficial for health conditions involving the brain, spine, musculoskeletal system and heart, clearly showing small structures or disease within the body, such as small tumours.

“We are proud that The London Clinic is the first hospital in the UK to offer our consultants and patients access to the new Siemens MAGNETOM Vida 3T MRI scanner,” says Al Russell, chief executive at The London Clinic.

“Our multi-million pound investment provides more appointments and comfort for patients and is a key part of strategy to support our consultants in accurate diagnosis to deliver the best health outcomes for patients. The crane installation in central London was a spectacle in the skyline and expertly managed by the project team,” he adds.

“Our new MRI suite is located in our purpose built cancer centre, the Duchess of Devonshire Wing. The priority when designing the suite was patient comfort, ensuring we set the stage for our patients to feel at ease during their stay with us,” says Sophie Auld, interim-director of clinical services at The London Clinic.

“This 3T MRI technology produces a higher spatial resolution, resulting in better visualisation of anatomic structures and subtle abnormalities can more easily be detected in cancer, orthopaedics, urology and neurology conditions. Improved imaging allows the early detection of conditions and can reduce the need for unnecessary biopsies. The new 3T MRI offering increases our hospital’s ability to see more patients and develop new services. Appointments are available from 14th September,” she adds.

“This is an exciting time for The London Clinic,” says Alistair Piggot, MR business manager of Siemens Healthineers.

“We are delighted that The London Clinic chose the MAGNETOM Vida, the first 3T MRI scanner with BioMatrix Technology designed with revolutionary features to serve the increasing demands in high-end clinical imaging and clinical research. With patient experience firmly at its core, the MAGNETOM Vida will enable The London Clinic to push and redefine the limits of what is possible in diagnostic imaging.”

As well as growing existing services, the following new services are set to be introduced at The London Clinic thanks to the new Siemens MAGNETOM Vida 3T MRI scanner:

Spectroscopy to measure the chemical composition of tissue and therefore can increase the accuracy of diagnosis in conditions of the brain, prostate or spine.

Functional brain imaging to detect minute changes in blood flow and is used to understand how an injured or diseased brain is functioning, or detect early onset Alzheimer’s.

Prostate 3T MRI to detect small tumours which may otherwise go undetected, and also in detecting tumour reoccurrence for patients with prostate cancer.

Radiotherapy MRI planning to detect head, neck, thyroid, female pelvis (gynaecology) tumours.

Interventional biopsies under MRI guidance to remove tissue samples from the breast or prostate for example, for examination under a microscope.