So much, so close: Imaging marvel available at hospital
Staff reporter
Through blood, sweat, and probably some tears, new nuclear medicine equipment is up and running at St. Luke Hospital.
Radiology department director Joe Pickett spent hours on the telephone, sleepless nights, and learned lessons in patience during the process of replacing the hospital's older radiology equipment — a process that took nearly a year.
"The old equipment worked fine until it quit and needed repair," Pickett said. Because of the age of the camera and control panel, it was not feasible to repair it. So Pickett began the process in August 2005, of replacing the outdated equipment.
The board of directors of Marion County Hospital District #1 approved Pickett's pursuit of bids for new equipment.
A bid was approved, engineering work completed, a room remodeled, and equipment was ordered. Just before it was to be installed, the company's engineer determined the room was not adequate for the equipment. So it was back to the drawing board.
During this time, the hospital was without the diagnostic equipment and losing revenue.
Negotiations ensued and as a result, a better camera and control panel were purchased for basically the same price as the first piece of equipment.
"I do believe things happen for a reason," Pickett said. "At the time, I wasn't sure but now I know."
The hospital now has twice the camera and twice the speed of the previous equipment.
The Millenium MG (Multi-Geometry) dual-head nuclear medicine imaging system is an all-purpose gamma camera using General Electric's patented technology.
"This equipment provides increased capabilities," Pickett said, which includes nuclear cardiology.
"With an aging patient base, a lot of our patients have cardiac issues," Pickett said. "With this technology available locally, patients do not have to travel to Newton, El Dorado, Emporia, or Wichita.
"There are three different software protocols for processing cardiac studies," Pickett said. The studies are tailored to patients' symptoms and what's found on the scans.
"This particular software makes the system so different from other systems," he said.
The two-head camera allows imaging from two dimensions without changing equipment. The previous imaging system had a single-head camera that had to be rotated to provide a different view.
"This is a non-invasive procedure to diagnose cardiac disease," Pickett said.
In addition to cardiac diagnosis, the equipment is used to diagnose gallbladder, liver, lung, thyroid, and bone ailments.
Most tests are conducted by injecting a specific radionuclide in a patient intravenously that collects in the relevant tissue.
The patient is scanned with the highly sensitive camera, generating images. These images assist physicians in assessing diseases.
"The primary difference between this equipment and X-ray or CT-scanning is this provides images of how organs or other specific areas function rather than skeletal imaging," he said.
The basic design of the system hasn't changed in 25 years but the computer component has changed — dramatically.
Even with this state-of-the-art, cutting edge technology, updates are necessary every one to two years. The life of the equipment is expected to be seven to 10 years.
Primary care physicians and surgeons will use the updated scanning device because of the sharp and more accurate and reliable images.
Speed of processing also is a draw. What used to take 40 minutes to process now takes 20 seconds.
And patients are using it.
During the first month of operation, there were more exams than in six months last year, Pickett said.
