February 10, 2016
‘Patient’ Lesley Angeltvedt, supervisor of Diagnostic Imaging, lies on the CT scanner bed currently in use at the Wetaskiwin Community Health Centre to show how the equipment works. Medical radiation technician Kristina Johnson, left, and radiologist Dr. Timothy Kudel touch the control pads that operate the scanner.
Story by Kerri Robins; photo courtesy of John Strong
More commonly known as a CT scanner, the new equipment will replace the current one at the Wetaskiwin Community Health Centre.
Scheduled for installation next month, CT scanners are critical diagnostic tools producing cross-sectional patterned images in 3D views of the inside of the body.
Radiologist Dr. Timothy Kudel says he couldn’t be happier that his health centre will soon receive the new equipment.
“We use our existing CT scanner a lot — taking about 4,300 to 4,500 scans per year,” he says.
CT scanners greatly increase a doctor’s ability to screen for and more accurately diagnose many medical conditions, for example, such as an internal bleed or lung disorders.
The new machine replaces an older unit in the centre’s diagnostic imaging department. As well as its deployment for emergency situations, it’s also used for a variety of other health care needs such as cancer-care followup.
Henry (Hank) Thompson underwent lung surgery after a CT scan by the old scanner. Diagnosed with cancer in fall 2012, since then he’s received followup scans every three months.
“I’m so happy I don’t have to travel for my followup treatment — it’s nice to stay at home,” says the 83-year-old Wetaskiwin man.
The new scanner is a sleek piece of equipment, with state-of-the-art technology capable of taking pictures much faster — 64 slices (images) per rotation around the patient compared to 16 for the machine it’s replacing.
“Faster pictures mean increased patient comfort,” says Kudel, “because the patient doesn’t have to hold their breath as long for the machine to capture the image. And the technology allows us to view sharper, crisper on-screen images.”
As well, “faster processing of images helps us with quicker analyses and diagnoses for our patients, and that certainly provides peace of mind,” adds Kudel.
The new scanner also administers a safer, lower dose of ionizing radiation — and that’s great for both staff and patients.
With $800,000 raised to date by the Wetaskiwin Health Foundation, its chair Branin Thompson is excited about the new scanner.
“When we started campaigning last April, we estimated the campaign to last until August 2016,” says Thompson. “But here we are — five months ahead of schedule — and that’s a testament to our amazing community support and dedication to local health care.”
For information, visit wetaskiwinhealthfoundation.com.
