Since the Millennium scanner was installed in Bradford Royal Infirmary in July last year more than 3,000 patients have passed through the state-of-the-art technology.

And its success is partly thanks to a large donation from the National Heart Research Fund.

This week the Telegraph & Argus has teamed up with the national charity and local solicitors to give readers the unique opportunity of making a will for free (up to the value of £100). In return, they are asked to consider leaving a legacy, large or small, to the NHRF.

Committed to tackling Bradford's biggest killer - heart disease - the organisation donated £41,000 to purchase a cardiac attachment for the MRI scanner before it was installed.

"In effect, it's allowed us to have the upgrade built-in so we have a higher spec machine," said consultant radiologist Dr Roger Lowe.

"It improved the design of the machine so it can scan faster and see structures that are moving.

"If we had upgraded the scanner now, it would have cost us £100,000. And we would have had to take it away for a week."

More than £1 million was raised by Bradford people towards the MRI scanner, which detects tumours and diseases throughout the body.

Sensitive to blood supply, the machine is one of the most advanced in Europe and can scan the chest, heart and arteries.

Dr Lowe said: "It benefits the patient as it allows us to make a more definite diagnosis without surgery. Then we can tell whether they should have surgery or not. In the last 15 months, we have done ten times the number of patients who used to have examinations. Before, patients had to go to Leeds and Halifax and we only saw 300 a year.

"Children particularly benefit from the procedure which avoids painful surgical investigations such as inserting tubes into arteries, added Dr Lowe.

"We obviously wouldn't have been able to have such a high spec machine without the support of the National Heart Research Fund," he said.

The MRI scanner is just one project to benefit from funds raised by the charity which obtains more than 60 per cent of its money through legacies.

To take advantage of the offer, simply complete the coupon on this page and send your details to the National Heart Research Fund at the address shown.