Atlantic Vet College now has its own state-of-the-art MRI machine
The Atlantic Veterinary College in Charlottetown is now the proud owner of a state-of-the-art MRI machine, and officials expect it to enhance training, research and treatment.
The machine was manufactured in Germany, flown to Chicago, then carefully transported to Prince Edward Island using specialized trailers. A crane and coordinated rigging system was required to get the 4,200-kilogram machine into the college.
"Right now, we're one of the only MRI units in a veterinary hospital in Atlantic Canada," said Dr. Heather Gunn McQuillan, assistant dean of clinical and professional programming at the college. "It's a big day today."
Getting this MRI machine to AVC has been in the works for several years.
In the past, some small animals could be scanned using MRI technology at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Charlottetown — but there was nothing available for larger animals such as horses or cows.
Now all that work can happen at Atlantic Canada's only veterinary college.
"It helps with the logistics," said Gunn McQuillan. "Now we don't have to go over on a set day of the week, and now we don't have to try and arrange around all sorts of different schedules. It's available to us here in house, all the time."
The machine is actually designed for human use, but will be set up to accommodate both people and animals. Gunn McQuillan said that means it will support advanced human and animal research at AVC and UPEI — and offer training opportunities for many students.
"Our students are going to benefit from learning on this modality, from learning on this machine," she said. "And also our residents, the people who become surgeons and radiologists, will learn on this machine too. So it really is one of those things that will have an exponential impact on that next generation of veterinarians and all the people they serve."
She said there are no current plans to make the machine available to Islanders waiting for access to an MRI, but said it's something the college is open to.
The multi-million-dollar purchase was made possible by a large private donation to the college. The new MRI is part of a larger project to expand the Veterinary Teaching Hospital, which includes plans for a refurbished CT scanner, some ultrasound machines, and endoscopy and fluoroscopy equipment.
Gunn McQuillan says it'll take several months to get the MRI machine set up — and offer training on it. The goal is to have it available to patients by this spring.
"It has been an amazing process to watch, watching everybody come together with it," she said. "I've been in charge of the hospital for the last eight years. It gives me an immense amount of joy to see this large project come to be. I'm just so proud."
