MRI is a diagnostic tool used for imaging soft tissues such as the brain, spinal cord, ligaments, muscles, liver and pelvic organs.

Regional Imaging chief radiographer Harry Hanson was working at Calvary St Luke’s when the MRI scanner was first introduced.

Its installation saved many patients a trip interstate – and provided a much faster and accurate diagnosis of a range of conditions.

“It was huge, because for the first time in Tasmania you could actually see the brain properly, the spinal cord, the structure of the joints very clearly,” Mr Hanson said.

“It was very exciting because it was the first one.

“When you’re a student you dream about this technology and here it was.”

Radiologist Richard Archer joined the practice one year after it performed its first MRI.

He has seen the technology rapidly progress in the last 25 years.

The MRI process is now faster and more comfortable than when the technology was first introduced, he said.

“It’s a very powerful tool and you can see the brain and body parts so clearly,” he said.

Regional Imaging at Calvary St Luke’s is on its third MRI and will soon install a scanner six times stronger than its first.

When the MRI was first installed in the practice it scanned one or two people daily.

Now, up to 35 people come through its doors each day.