Marines, coalition receive MRI machine in Helmand province

Photo By OR-6 Mitch Moore | An AMK-31 vehicle drives off the ramp of an Antonov 124-100M aircraft at Joint Operating Base Bastion, Afghanistan, in the early hours of the morning in preparation for delivery of a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machine to the Role 3 Medical Facility at Bastion, the first of its kind in the country, on 5th October 2011. (Royal Air Force Photo by Sergeant Mitch Moore/Released)  

CAMP LEATHERNECK, AFGHANISTAN

10.06.2011

Story by Cpl. Adam Leyendecker 

Regional Command Southwest

CAMP LEATHERNECK, Afghanistan -- Marines and their coalition partners who suffer concussions, brain injuries, or joint and tissue damage, are now able to be evaluated and diagnosed locally in Helmand province since the arrival of a Magnetic Resonance Imaging machine at Camp Leatherneck, Oct. 5.

Concussions are one of the most common injuries suffered by coalition forces in Helmand, said Capt. Jeffrey W. Timby, surgeon for Regional Command Southwest.

“The machine will help to diagnose and understand the head injuries troops are experiencing, said Timby, a native of Wallingford, Pa. “The majority of Marines who suffer mild concussions recover without further therapy, but this machine will help us find out why a category of Marines don’t seem to recover as quickly.”

About a year ago, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Michael Mullen, made it a priority to ensure that American troops had all the tools they needed medically to be successful.

“Having the MRI machine gives us that opportunity,” said Timby.

The machine will be kept at the Camp Bastion Role III hospital. Medical personnel say that locating it at the camp will be advantageous to coalition forces since Bastion is where radiologists work and that it will be safer for patients to have the machine located inside the medical facility.

For more on this and other stories from Regional Command Southwest, including follow-on interviews with service members featured in this story, please contact Tim Love at [e-mail] and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Flickr.  Also, be sure to check out the Regional Command Southwest Roundup, a weekly selection of the top stories from combat correspondents in Helmand and Nimroz provinces.

• Date Taken: 10.06.2011
• Date Posted: 10.07.2011 13:10
• Story ID: 78176
• Location: CAMP LEATHERNECK, AF