Chief Radiologist Joe Erwin on Wednesday gave Mineral Wells Rotarians a picture of Palo Pinto General Hospital's digital imaging capabilities.
The hospital is almost a year into the use of its GE LightSpeed 64-slice CT Scanner. CT stands for computerized tomography, a process that takes and combines a series of X-Ray images from different angles – in this case a 360-degree view – and creates a cross-section display of the individual images, or slices, with much more detail than standard X-Rays.
It produces digital images four-times faster than the Radiology Department's previous 16-slice CT scanner, a great benefit, especially for emergency room doctors. Erwin said PPGH uses the machine hundreds of times a month and is used by the ER about two-thirds of the time. The new machine cost $435,000, and PPGH did about $200,000 in renovations to the department to enlarge and accommodate the machine.
PPGH's radiology department provides inpatient and outpatient procedures including diagnostic and therapeutic testing and treatment, X-Rays, CT scans, bone density tests, ultrasounds, digital mammography, and magnetic resonance imaging.
The CT scanner is mainly for imaging a person from the head to their trunk to diagnose injuries or abnormalities in bone, tissue or blood vessels. The patient lies on a bed – longer than the previous machine’s bed – and is then slowly glided through the imaging wheel. The new machine includes a video and audio display that instructs the patient on what to do, and expect, during the procedure.
A recent acquisition is a portable digital scanner that can be used to quickly look for bone fractures, diagnose conditions like pneumonia and other conditions and ailments on the spot. It can also be used by doctors to check procedures without having to wheel the patient back and forth to radiology.
"It's a room on wheels," said Erwin of the $135,000 machine, which was acquired by the PPGH Auxiliary.
He said the hospital has a radiologist available 24/7 who can read scans.
Erwin said he would like in the future to upgrade the hospital's mammography capabilities to 3D imaging to further improve screening and diagnostic abilities.
Rotary Club of Mineral Wells meets every Wednesday at noon at Holiday Hills Country for lunch, networking, updates on club projects and events and a program of interest. Please join us.