The Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machine of the associated hospital of the Doon Medical College (DMC), which broke down on Friday could take at least a week to get repaired. It is learnt the gas chamber of the error prone MRI machine has leaked causing it to malfunction.
The in-charge of the machine, Mahendra Bhandari told The Pioneer that the consignment of the helium gas would arrive on February 25 and after that the machine would be repaired. It is worth mentioning here that the machine developed snags three times in last years alone due to which the patients faced many problems. The radiology department of the Doon hospital is the only facility in the government sector in Dehradun where the MRI machine is installed.
More than 25 MRI are done on an average in a day in the hospital at a subsidized rate. The Phillips India limited which installed the machine in the hospital also holds a ten year maintenance contract of the machine.
The 1.5 Tesla MRI machine was installed at the biggest hospital of the State in the year 2009 at cost of `7 Crores. The machine was operated for a period of five years by a private player ‘Mahajan Imaging Private limited’. The machine was handed over to the Doon hospital after the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the private player ended in June 2014.
Though the malfunctioning of the important radio-diagnostic machine is a problem for the patients, the private radiology centres of the city are having a good bussiness in such situation as the patients of the hospital are diverted to these private centres in case of any snag in the machine.
These private centres charge about `7000 to 10000 for an MRI which is available for only `3500 in the associated hospital of the DMC.