Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs and Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage, both in the US, have upgraded their MRI machines to new 3T scanners to receive sharper and clearer images.

Using these high-quality MRI scanners, physicians can detect cancerous tumours, debilitating diseases and other ailments at earlier stages of development, radiology specialists at the two hospitals said.

The fast and cost-effective 3T machine will be able to scan about 15 new patients a day, mydesert.com reports.

Investment totalling $3.5m has been spent on the new 12t 3T scanner at Desert Regional and a new 2,000ft² space, as part of the hospital’s new El Mirador Imaging Center, which opens on 15 December.