Spire Washington Hospital improves patient MRI availability and reduces scan time with Artificial Intelligence

• A local hospital has created more MRI diagnostic capacity for patients, reduced the scan time, and improved image quality by investing in Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Spire Washington Hospital’s AI enabled MRI scanner supports patients and consultants, providing sharper, clearer images by removing ‘noise’, improving diagnostic confidence and significantly speeding up the MRI process.

Scan times for certain orthopaedic MRI studies, for example spinal imaging, have halved from around 40 to 20 minutes. Scan rates have increased from 1.9 to 2.3 per hour bringing the average patient wait time down to 3.5 days.

AI-enabled MRI scanner in use

These enhancements are allowing Washington hospital to see patients sooner and deliver quicker access to diagnostic results, supporting consultants in providing timely, high-quality care.

Clinical judgement is critical though. Radiographers remain responsible for patient safety, patient care, protocol decisions, positioning, contrast administration, and adapting scans in real time.

Andrew Johnson, Spire Washington Hospital Director, said: “Investing in AI enabled MRI scanners is a gamechanger in terms of improving availability for patients, reducing the time they are required for the diagnostic test, and enhancing image quality.
This technology also allows staff to focus even more on the human connection; to recognise any anxiety and help patients through the experience.”

In 2025, Spire Healthcare rolled out new AI technology in MRI scanners to 21 hospital sites, bringing Spire patients high quality digital healthcare diagnostics.

The company works with a variety of software partners including Siemens, Deep Resolve, Philips, Smart Speed and GE to support patient diagnoses with assistance from AI deep learning neural network models, which learn complex patterns from large volumes of data to deliver sharper, more accurate MRI images in less time.