Canada’s first portable pediatric MRI machine rolled out in Sask. [Video]

A machine that can take brain scans from a child’s hospital bed has arrived in Saskatchewan.

Unlike regular MRI scanners, the Swoop Portable MRI System is mobile.

Currently, pediatric patients who need an MRI have to be wheeled to Royal University Hospital (RUH).

“Now we can go to the patient’s bedside to take images,” Matthew Malach, an MRI technician at Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital (JPCH), said.

The machine is expected to be a game changer for Saskatchewan’s sickest children.

“For patients who are on life support, bringing them to an MRI scanner is fraught with difficulties — including pushing them across the hallway with the possibilities of them being disconnected,” Pediatric Intensivist Dr. Gregory Hansen said.

The machine is smaller and quieter than a typical MRI machine.

With the new equipment, parents are allowed to be in the room and hold their child’s hand during the scan. As a result, …