Maybe you have an irrational fear of needles or the sight of
your own blood, but even the most squeamish of patients have little
to fear from Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital’s new 64-slice CT
scanner. In fact, you might even think it’s pretty cool.
Maybe you have an irrational fear of needles or the sight of your own blood, but even the most squeamish of patients have little to fear from Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital’s new 64-slice CT scanner. In fact, you might even think it’s pretty cool.
“It’s totally high-tech,” said Eleze Donahue, HHH’s radiology director.
Hazel Hawkins purchased the machine with funds from Measure L – the $31.5 million bond that voters overwhelmingly approved in May 2005.
Most people are familiar with the comparatively “old fashioned” CT (Computerized Tomography, for the curious) scanner machines – sometimes called CAT scanners. The idea is pretty simple – lie down on a narrow couch inside a large cylinder while X-rays take several different pictures of your body, which a computer puts back together again.
“The old CT scanners could take up to a half hour. It was very time-consuming and inefficient,” said Donahue. “The new machines can get some scans done in seconds.”
The difference, essentially, is in the number of pictures the new CT scanner machines are able to take at one time.
“Imagine your body is a loaf of bread, that you start to cut into slices,” said Donahue. “Instead of having to cut one slice at a time, we can cut it into 64 slices all at once, which we can look at individually.”
The new machines also allow doctors and technicians to isolate parts of any one of the 64 “slices” they are looking at – for example, a doctor may want to look at just the bones, or only the blood vessels – something that would have never been possible with the old CT Scanners. And the slices are so small – less than a millimeter – that doctors can catch problems they weren’t even looking for in the first place.
“The smaller the slices of data you’re able to look at, the better your chances are of finding a pathology,” Donahue said.
The new machines are particularly valuable when dealing with children, who can have a hard time sitting still for 30 minutes. The new CT scanners are also cutting down on the amount of invasive procedures patients have to endure, such as the angiogram, which usually involves threading a catheter through a particular artery for study. With the new machines, however, patients can take an injection of dye, sit for a quick scan and be on their way.
“It saves patients time and is much more comfortable for them, which is the most important thing,” said Donahue. “They don’t have to get in their car and drive out of town to get state-of-the-art care. And it saves us a lot of time as well.”
The machines can easily top $1 million in price, but those who work with them say the time saved alone is worth the cost. Donahue estimated that more than 500 patients sat for CT scans throughout June, the first month it operated. The old machines only allowed time for between 300 and 350 patients a month.
Not only are they quicker, but the new CT scanners make their lifesaving technology more accessible to more people. The old machines had a weight limit of 300 lbs, but the new machines can accommodate patients weighing up to 450 lbs.
This means that the hospital will have to turn fewer patients away and save everyone some embarrassment.
“We wanted to get the new CT scanner right away, because it was something we could do to serve our patients more quickly and comfortably,” Valent-Arballo said.
In addition to the new scanner, Measure L funds also paid for the new parking lot that was recently opened at HHH and will fund the new emergency room, which will be triple the size of the current department. Plans have already been drawn up and HHH plans to break ground next spring, said hospital spokesperson Frankie Valent-Arballo.
St Louise Regional Hospital in Gilroy also recently acquired a new CT Scanner, and will be holding a special blessing for the device next month.
“It’s a huge jump forward as far as our care is concerned,” said hospital President and CEO Ted Fox. “It will increase our capacity and we’re lucky enough to have the expertise here so our patients can take advantage of this.”
Even though it might sound more like Star Trek than E.R., the new 64-slice CT scanners are helping medical professionals in the South Valley save lives every day, and they enjoy doing it.
“Our X-ray techs and radiologists are constantly figuring out what new things we can do with this, constantly pushing the limits,” said Donahue. “And they’re excited about learning more every day.”
Danielle Smith covers education for the Free Lance. Reach her at 637-5566, ext. 336 or [email protected].
