Geary Community Hospital hosted Thursday mornings Chamber Breakfast and showed off their new C.T. Scanner and M.R.I. Machine.

The Hospital installed a new Toshiba Prime 80 C.T. Machine in October of last year and the new Toshiba Titan M.R.I. Machine earlier this month.

Honey Grant, Grandview Plaza Vice Mayor, explained that she had been in the old M.R.I machine, which sat outside of the hospital in a semi-trailer.

“I’ve been through the old equipment and going outside in a night gown wasn’t my cup of tea,” Grant said. “It’s nice to know that we have some new equipment.

Upgrading the equipment has been close to five years in the making according to Pat Small, Rago Radiology Director.

“I’ve been working probably five years on this. Each year going to administration and trying to get the proposal going but it never worked out. This year with the help of the foundation we were able to do this.”

The cost of the M.R.I. machine is approximately $1.4 million and is on a seven year lease to own. The construction to bring the machine inside cost approximately $460,000 and the Geary Community Healthcare Foundation donated $350,000 for that cost.

Pat Landes, Chief Radiologist at GCH, explained that the new machines are the best around.

“You won’t find a scanner like this between Kansas City to Denver along I-70, I guarantee it,” Landes said. “This is a 1.5 tesla magnet, thats a 32 channel system. I don’t know anybody that has a 32 channel system around, most of them are 16.”

On top of the improved technology the new M.R.I. machine offers a more comfortable patient experience. A larger opening and ultra short magnet makes it less claustrophobic than the previous machine and is considered one of the quietest machines around.

Wednesday was the first full day the machine was available for patient care and Landes said they put six patients through it.