AI-powered MRI software is now installed on more than half of compatible NHS MRI scanners in England, helping services carry out on average 14 per cent more scans while maintaining image quality, new figures show.

The Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England said on 3 November that the NHS has added 125 CT and MRI scanners since March 2024, helping deliver around one million extra scans every year. The figures come from NHS England's 2025 to 2026 National Imaging Data Collection.

More capacity, faster scans

The AI acceleration software reconstructs a high-quality image from less data, shortening the time each patient spends in the scanner. An MRI scan currently takes between 15 minutes and one hour, according to the government. Services using the software carry out on average 14 per cent more scans, and every NHS trust will be offered the chance to upgrade its compatible machines by 2029, with a full rollout projected to add up to 162,000 extra checks a year.

Of the 125 new scanners added between March 2024 and March 2026, 107 went into community diagnostic centres — standalone sites built to take routine imaging out of hospitals. Those centres carried out nearly 2.2 million CT and MRI scans in the 12 months to March 2026, about a million more than two years earlier.

Earlier diagnosis the aim

Minister of State for Health Karin Smyth said the government is expanding NHS capacity and using new technology in the face of record demand to help more people get the tests and care they need, with the extra scanning capacity aimed at diagnosing cancer and other serious conditions earlier.

The new £19.2 million Manchester and Trafford Community Diagnostic Centre, which opened on 29 October, is among the sites expanding access to tests in the community.