The Barnard Radiology Institute, attached to the Madras Medical College, handles one of the largest scan loads across state-run hospitals in TN — close to 1/5th of the CT scans and 1/4th of the MRI scans done across Tamil Nadu, are taken at the centre here. According to sources at the hospital, as many as 28 MRI scans and 300 CT scans are taken every day, making it an extremely busy centre of diagnostic processes.
Having procured their first X-ray machine barely 5 years after the technology was invented in 1895, the centre was named after Captain Barnard, who improved and upgraded X-ray services here between 1920 and 1936. It was befitting that the centre was named after him when it was inaugurated by the then governor.
In a continued effort to improve the facilities at the centre, CT scan machines, which had been in use for over a decade, have now been retired and new machines have been purchased and installed at the cost of `1 crore. This equipment was purchased out of funds received through reimbursements from the CM’s Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme.