ZAMBOANGA CITY, Apr. 27, (PIA) - -
The Zamboanga City Medical Center (ZCMC) is expected to benefit a Magnetic
Resonance Imaging or MRI scan machine as the city’s local chief executive Mayor
Celso Lobregat pledged to deliver the expensive machine early next year.
“I
will see to it that the city government will be able to donate an MRI to the
ZCMC,” the mayor promised during the inauguration of the operating room complex
and radiology oncology center of the ZCMC held recently.
He
said he already discussed the matter with the Department of Health (DOH)
officials.
“The
equipment will cost between P30 million to P40 million,” Lobregat informed.
He
said funds for the purchase of an MRI scan machine will be included in the city’s
supplemental budget for 2013.
Once
delivered, the ZCMC will be the first and only government hospital to have an
MRI in the Zamboanga Peninsula Region or Mindanao as a whole.
An
MRI scan machine is used by physicians to detect structural abnormalities in
the body.
It
is a special technique that uses powerful magnets, radio waves and computers to
produce detailed images (or scans) of the inside of the body.
The
images that an MRI scanner takes are very detailed. They are taken in thin
'slices' through one’s body and can be taken from any direction. They show one’s
bones, soft tissues such as muscle, skin, nerves and blood vessels, and organs
such as brain and heart.
An
MRI scanner can take pictures of most parts of the body.
Because
an MRI scanner takes very detailed pictures of the body, it can often show
things that aren't seen on an X-ray or in other tests such as an ultrasound.
One
may have an MRI scan to find out the cause of symptoms such as pain, joint or
muscle stiffness, swelling or weight loss. One may also have an MRI scan if one
have been diagnosed with a condition such as cancer, where the doctor needs
detailed information so the doctor can make decisions about what treatment is
best. (JPA/ PIA 9-ZBST)