Kenora and Sioux Lookout are getting MRI suites. Here’s why that’s a big deal in northwestern Ontario – CBC

Patients will see quicker diagnoses, less travel, shorter wait times, say hospitals

Feb 05, 2025

Health-care professionals in northwestern Ontario say the expansion of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) services in the region will be a game changer for patients, especially those who spend hours travelling from remote communities for care.

The Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre is the only hospital in the region that offers MRI, a non-invasive medical imaging technique that uses magnetic fields and radio waves to take detailed pictures of organs and tissues in the body.

Besides Thunder Bay, the closest option for patients in the northwest is going to Winnipeg.

However, that will soon change, with Lake of the Woods District Hospital (LWDH) in Kenora and the Meno Ya Win Health Centre in Sioux Lookout each getting their first-ever MRI suites.

“In the past, we would use CT (computed tomography), and that may not be the best choice, but it was better than sending our patients for multiple hours of travel, multiple days of wait, and resulting in a diagnostic dilemma that now is stretched out over a week — which could be solved on the same day,” said Dr. Neety Panu, lead radiologist at the Meno Ya Win Health Centre.

Kenora and Sioux Lookout are getting MRI suites. Here’s why that’s a big deal in northwestern Ontario – CBC

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