Patients from Bradford are set to take part in a major study which could further extend the use of MRI technology.

The £100,000 research project led by doctors at Leeds General Infirmary could signal the end for a day-long procedure used to diagnose circulatory problems which involves injecting a dye into narrowed arteries followed by an X-ray.

Instead the process could be replaced by MRI technology which would take a simple picture of an artery in only ten minutes.

A total of 150 patients, including some from Bradford, are set to be tested in the study beginning this month which will compare costs and results using both techniques.

The MRI scanner selected by experts at Bradford Royal Infirmary is set to be specially equipped with a device to use the new procedure which doctors believe could be a significant step forward in patient care. Less than £68,000 remains to be raised in the Final Countdown for the Bradford Millennium Scanner Appeal.

Dr Jim Meaney, consultant radiologist at LGI, said currently patients with arterial problems had tubes fed usually into the groin and dye injected running down to the affected artery as they laid flat for a few hours.

They were later taken to be X-rayed to give doctors a picture of the extent of narrowed arteries.

Initial results using MRI scans showed results as good as if not better than traditional techniques without any risks.

Dr Meaney added: "The X-ray test is the best one we have at the moment but we think MRI is as good or better - all the information points to that so far.

"It's much more cost-effective, takes only a few minutes, does not use a hospital bed which are very expensive and there is no radiation from MRI."

Superintendent radiographer Stephen Gibbs, who will run the MRI machine at Bradford Royal Infirmary, said imaging equipment fitted to the scanner would be a significant step forward for patients with circulatory problems.

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