A 78-YEAR-OLD grandmother went down in history today as the first patient to use the £1 million MRI scanner bought through the East Lancashire SuperScan appeal.

Frances Goetzee, of Honeyhole, Blackburn, was "over-the-moon" at being the first of thousands of patients to use the ground-breaking piece of equipment, based at Blackburn Royal Infirmary.

The Magnetic Resonance Imaging machine will help doctors to diagnose patients from all over East Lancashire and was paid for by a Lancashire Evening Telegraph-backed fund-raising campaign, which reached its £1 million target in less than three years.

Mrs Goetzee, who lives with her husband Arthur, has six children and 15 grandchildren and has had problems with her knees and arteries in both legs for some time. The scan will show whether she has a narrowing spinal cord. A former radiographer herself, Mrs Goetzee said: "I'm so excited about it. I'm hoping the scan will help doctors see what the problem is for me as well as helping other patients in the area. The scanner is brilliant!"

Superintendent radiographer Heather Moody said staff were also excited about their first patient.

"We have been practising with staff from all over the hospital for the past week or so and have done brain and back scans. But this one is the first real patient and we're really excited."

The MRI scanner has become one of the most powerful tools in diagnosing potentially life-threatening diseases like cancer since its development more than 20 years ago.

Instead of radiation, the scanner uses a powerful magnet, radiowaves and protons found in the patient's water and body fat to create images via a computer. The images can then be used in the early diagnosis of cancer involving the head, neck and spine, as well as a host of other afflictions.

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