FORT COLLINS - The Imaging Center will begin offering a new type of MRI to Northern Colorado residents later this year.

The center's Hitachi Oasis 1.2T high-strength open MRI scanner provides a higher degree of comfort for patients as they undergo scanning, according to a release from the company.

The technology will be available beginning in early December in the south medical office building on the Medical Center of the Rockies campus at 2500 Rocky Mountain Ave. in Loveland.

The unit will be housed in a newly named facility called Open MRI of the Rockies.

The scanner is especially useful for claustrophobic, obese or pediatric patients, according to the Imaging Center and can be used for patients up to 660 pounds.