CHERRIES boss Eddie Howe opened a new and revolutionary £1million upright MRI scanner in Bournemouth last week.

Joined by his assistant Jason Tindall and club physiotherapist Steve Hard, Eddie sat in the equipment for himself at the Boscombe-based Anglo-European College of Chiropractic on Parkwood Road.

One of only four of its type in the country, the Paramed 0.5T magnet allows scans to be obtained standing up and lying down, enabling enhanced investigation of problems caused by weight bearing postures such as disc protrusions and spinal stenosis.

Eddie told the Daily Echo he was delighted to be able to support the college, which he said has provided his club with ‘invaluable expertise’ and ‘played a big part’ in recent successes.

“I have to say sitting in it I was very impressed,” he said.

“I have been in many scanners in my life unfortunately due to injuries and it is not always a pleasant experience – so to have the luxury to be able to sit in different positions and not to be confined into a tight space will have huge benefit – and I’m not just talking about elite athletes, I’m talking about members of the public.

“It means more people can get scanned and any health problems can hopefully get cured quicker.”

And the college’s consultant radiologist Dr Andy Morris said: “It enables us to scan the spine and joints in different positions, not possible with a conventional scanner, so that symptomatic positions and instability can be assessed.

“Also it will make MRI more easily accessible to patients, particularly for those that suffer from claustrophobia.”

Before Eddie cut the opening ribbon, college principal Haymo Thiel thanked him for attending and congratulated him on recently being named the Football League’s manager of the decade.

“The college has quite a long association with the football club and one that has been growing from strength to strength over the years,” he said.

“As you know the club has been doing exceptionally well over recent years and it’s no surprise given the management that we have now at the club.

“We are quite excited about this project. It is really quite a unique machine and there is only this one in the south of England and only a handful across the whole of the UK. It really compliments what we have otherwise with respect to our imaging provision.”