New MRI scanner in Huddinge opens up new opportunities
A new laboratory for MRI examinations was recently inaugurated at Karolinska University Hospital in Huddinge. The purchase of a new MRI scanner, following a donation from the Erling Persson Foundation, creates completely new opportunities for the Stockholm Region and Karolinska Institutet for both doctors and researchers.
Already in 2013, a collaboration was initiated between the Department of Medicine at Karolinska Institutet and Karolinska University Hospital under the name MR Cardiovascular. The aim was to allow clinical researchers from different fields of activity to meet in a stimulating environment with the intention of carrying out scientific projects integrated with clinical diagnostics.
But the opportunities for advanced MRI examinations have so far been very limited in Huddinge, explained Lars Rydén, senior professor at the Department of Medicine, Solna, and chairman of the MR-Heart Vessels steering group, when he welcomed everyone to the inauguration and the introductory lecture:
"The new camera here in Huddinge not only enables increased access to new examination methods in the southern part of the region so that the right diagnosis is made and the right treatment is initiated, but also new opportunities for research at Karolinska Institutet."
During the lecture, Ulf Hedin, professor and chief physician in vascular surgery, and Peder Sörensson, senior physician and docent at the Department of Medicine, Solna, showed examples of the increased clinical opportunities and new areas of application for, among other things, preventive measures:
"The ultimate goal is to see the dangers before it happens. We can't afford not to collect as much information as possible about each individual patient," said Ulf Hedin.
Among other things, the research will benefit through increased patient inclusion in research studies, explained Marcus Carlsson, professor of Clinical Physiology at Karolinska Institutet:
"The camera offers a golden research tool without invasive measures and we can now follow a process over time with high measurement accuracy."
With the new MRI scanner in place, all the conditions are in place for the laboratory in Huddinge to continue to attract cutting-edge expertise in cardiovascular diagnostics. Lars Rydén clarified:
"We have a vision of becoming an international leader in cardiovascular MRI."
After the lecture, the guests gathered in the new laboratory, where Stefan Persson, chairman of the Erling Persson Foundation, together with Karolinska Institutet's president Annika Östman Wernerson, cut the ribbon and declared the new MRI scanner inaugurated.
By: Sara Lidman