More MRI and CT machines, more exams performed (Canada)

August 21, 2008—The supply of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT) scanners in Canada increased significantly over four years, according to a new report from the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI). Medical Imaging in Canada, 2007 reports that in 2007, there were 419 CT scanners and 222 MRI machines installed and operational in Canada, up from 325 and 149, respectively, in 2003. In the most recent year, between 2006 and 2007, the number of CT scanners increased by 27 and the number of MRI scanners increased by 21. The rate of MRI and CT exams performed per 1,000 population in Canada rose by 43% and 28%, respectively, in the four years between 2003 and 2007, and rose by 4% and 5%, respectively, in the most recent year.

Despite the increases, Canada, with 12 CT scanners and 6 MRI machines per million population, falls below the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) median of 15 CT scanners and 7 MRI machines per million population in 2005, the latest year for which data are available. There were 103 CT exams per 1,000 people performed in Canada in 2007, less than the rate performed in both the United States (207) and Belgium (138), but higher than the rate in Sweden (89), Spain (57), England (54) and Denmark (34). In comparison, Canada’s rate of MRI exams per 1,000 population (31) was higher than that in England (25), Spain (21) and Denmark (17), and lower than in the U.S. (89), Belgium (43) and Sweden (39).

source: Canadian Institute for Health Information