text: A crane was used to lift the scanner into place and the operation took several hours to complete.
  The multi-million pound investment has been partly funded by charitable donations.
  By 2012, the scanner appeal had raised £2m, and back then the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust said it expected the machine would be in place by 2013/2014.
  At that stage, the total capital cost was estimated at £4m, with additional annual running costs of £1.9m.
  The then Health Minister Edwin Poots committed £2.75m towards the project in November 2012 and described it as a "vital service".
  He said he was delighted that it was finally going to be installed and that the delays had been caused by practical issues.
  "Obviously it is something that the Belfast Trust were dealing with but the hospital that it is being placed in is a very old building," he said.
  "The first problem that they came across was asbestos and there was considerable asbestos removal to take place, so that was the first delaying factor.
  "Another thing that impacted on it was that the actual scanner is a considerable weight and the ground had to be piled for the scanner to be installed.
  "That piling was taking place actually within a building, so one can understand that that was a huge engineering challenge to take on."
  Mr Poots said that once it was installed it would have "life-saving consequences" and make a "huge difference" for the services provided at the children's hospital.
  Brian Barry, the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust's director of specialist hospitals, said the new scanner would help to reduce waiting times.
  "Previously our children in Northern Ireland had to go and have MRI scans in an adult environment," he said.
  "We now have a whole new purpose-built, child-friendly environment and have increased the amount of sessions available, so there is more service and a better service, Monday to Friday."
  The scanner should be operational within two months and will be used in the diagnosis of a wide range of medical conditions, including cancer.
target: A new MRI scanner has been delivered to the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children.