A fresh look at cardiac care

In October 2025, Unilabs Norway launched the Oslo region’s first advanced cardiac MRI (CMR) service, setting a new benchmark for advanced cardiac imaging, diagnostics, and truly patient-focused care. The milestone strengthens Unilabs’ position as a leading partner for healthcare professionals and patients seeking high-quality cardiac diagnostics.

This step forward has been guided by Senior Consultant Radiologist and Unilabs Norway’s Head of Cardiac Imaging, Dr Billy Roger Parimalasingham, who joined Unilabs in January 2024 after years developing cardiac imaging expertise in major hospital environments. His deep insight into the clinical world is playing a key role in shaping Unilabs Norway’s new approach to cardiac care.

Gold standard cardiac care

Cardiac MRI (CMR) is widely regarded as the gold standard for assessing heart structure, function, and tissue characteristics. Unlike other imaging methods, CMR offers unmatched detail of the heart’s anatomy and function, by allowing examiners to see the heart in action and providing tissue characterisation that can reveal inflammation, scarring, or fibrosis.  The procedure is non-invasive, radiation-free, and offers an unmatched level of diagnostic precision.

Dr Parimalasingham says having the CMR capability on site at Unilabs requires radiologists to have strong levels of cardiac knowledge. “Traditionally, radiologists speak one language, and cardiologists speak another, but CMR requires both. The heart is incredibly complex, and CMR is able to deliver near-histological information. By combining CMR data with blood markers, we can evaluate changes at the extracellular level. No other cardiac exam goes this deep.”

He says the clinical impact of CMR capability is enormous, both for patients seeking answers and for cardiologists who rely on high-resolution insights to guide treatment.

Caption: A view of CMR sequences

Building a new level of public–private collaboration

In Haugesund, where Unilabs has offered CMR services since April 2024, the company works in partnership with hospitals to lighten diagnostic workloads and help hospital cardiologists to prioritise the most critical patients. This model has proven highly effective, and Dr Parimalasingham says his vision is to mimic these collaborations across the Nordics.

“The need for strong collaboration between the private and public sectors is clear. The public system currently faces 28–30 week waiting lists for cardiac MRI. With Unilabs’ increasing capacity and expertise, we can support hospitals with their workloads and free them to prioritise urgent cases. Public and private working together as one team is the future, in my eyes.”

He says having a newly launched CMR in Oslo is also a significant support for private cardiologists in the region, who already rely on Unilabs for cardiac CT procedures, including CT TAVI (Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation) examinations. Unilabs experts have conducted CT TAVI examinations in Ski since May 2024, sending the images and reports to Oslo University Hospital (OUS) for cardiac surgeons to plan their aortic valve procedures.

Sharing knowledge and building industry capability

As part of Unilabs’ commitment to delivering the best patient care, it is also working to raise cardiac imaging capability across the industry. To support healthcare practitioners and accelerate learning, Unilabs is launching an external online course in cardiac MRI, designed to help radiologists, cardiologists, and imaging professionals to deepen their expertise. The online fellowship course, General Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance (CMR) will be delivered in May 2026 and reflects Unilabs’ ambition to unlock greater diagnostic accuracy across the public and private sectors, all with the aim of delivering better outcomes for patients.

Dr Parimalasingham says Unilabs’ investment in cardiac MRI is more than a technological upgrade. “It marks a shift in how diagnostics can support the entire healthcare ecosystem. With advanced imaging, shorter waiting times, and deeper collaboration across sectors, patients stand to benefit from faster, clearer diagnosis and personalised treatment plans.”