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February 29, 2008

New scanner speeds test times

James Coburn

EDMOND — A new state-of-the-art technology at Edmond Medical Center ushers in a new era of accuracy for radiologists diagnosing disease and injury in patients.

The new LightSpeed VCT XT 64-Slice Scanner was unveiled Thursday as the first of its type in Edmond.

Optimum resolution offered by the scanner is best suited for complex patients with vascular disease, orthopedic injuries, trauma and chest pain, said Dr. Douglas Beall, a musculoskeletal radiologist. Previous technologies do not compare with the clarity of the LightSpeed scanner, he said.

“It holds time still,” Beall said. “It’s so fast, you can image a beating heart, blood vessels. ... Anybody’s that’s hurt or uncooperative, injured in some other aspect and can’t hold still, it provides all the information much more quickly.”

An entire body scan can be completed in less than 6 seconds — something patients prefer who otherwise fear claustrophobia.

“If you can bear just 2 seconds of your head inside the tube — things are done,” Beall said.

Hospital CEO Tayo Fichtl said the acquisition of the LightSpeed scanner represents EMC’s continued commitment to the community. EMC has spent nearly $15 million during the past five years in capital upgrades.

“This allows us to provide better care for our emergency department, (and) allows us to provide better care for the outpatients that come in,” Fichtl said.

EMC has done a complete remodel and cosmetic upgrade for its new 3,000-square-foot radiology department that has been relocated within the hospital.

“We added another nuclear medicine camera. We’re moving our radiologists and creating a new space for our entrance to the department,” said John Blagg, director of the newly named Cleo Hunt Radiology Department.

The entire project cost $3 million including the $900,000 LightSpeed scanner, said Lavaughn Carey, chief financial officer.

Patients can access the radiology department from the east-side lobby area near the emergency room for a more user friendly approach, Blagg said.

Evening hours and Saturdays now are available for both MRI and CT scanning due to an increase in patient volume. Blagg said more than 1,500 radiology procedures are done each month at EMC. This monthly volume of procedures includes about 300 MRIs, 600 CT scans, 400 ultrasounds and 150 nuclear medicine procedures.

Beall said the $500 LightSpeed procedure is beginning to be covered by most insurance companies.



jcoburn@edmondsun.com | 341-2121, ext. 114

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PATTY MILLER | THE EDMOND SUN Laverne Ransbottom holds a silver MIA bracelet inscribed with her son's name. The bracelet was sent to Ransbottom after the death of Mary Milley of Maine who wore the bracelet every day for 39 years. In the frame are artifacts found in 2006 where Maj. Fredrick Ransbottom lost his life in 1968 at a military outpost in Kham Duc, Vietnam, including his class ring, billfold and a library card.

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