New CT Scanner Now Serving Veterans
GE and Eastern Oklahoma VA Health Care System held a ribbon-cutting for a new state-of-the-art CT scanner on May 15.
The Eastern Oklahoma VA Health Care System is proud to announce the addition of a new state of the art computerized tomography (CT or CAT-scan) machine to the Jack C. Montgomery VA Medical Center.
This is great news for the Veterans in the Eastern Oklahoma region because CT scans are invaluable in diagnosis and treatment as they provide more detailed information than plain X-rays. By digitally combining x-rays taken at multiple angles, this technology gives radiologists access to better images used to diagnose and monitor a variety of issues including cancer, cardiovascular diseases, infections and trauma.
Until now, CT users have had to compromise between systems that could only provide a subset of capabilities, but the new machine is a breakthrough that delivers uncompromised image quality and clinical capabilities, which helps the mission of providing the highest quality health care to Veterans.
“Our new GE Revolution CT scanner is the most advanced CT unit in the state of Oklahoma,” said Dr. Daniel Roswig, chief, Radiology and Nuclear Medicine Service. “This state-of-the-art technology achieves significant improvements in all facets of CT imaging. The weight capacity of the table is far greater, and the opening is larger. These improvements almost eliminate body size as a disqualifying factor for undergoing a CT study and the larger opening minimizes discomfort for those who are claustrophobic.”
In addition, the new CT scanner helps to enhance patient experience; reduces radiation dose and amount of administered dye; processes images faster so the studies are made available for interpretation quicker; and provides greater image resolution allowing for more precise diagnostic evaluation.
According to Dr. Roswig, one of the specific new capabilities made possible by the unit is the performance of low-dose screening chest CT studies for long-term smokers.
“Annual screening chest CTs in this patient group have shown to diagnose lung cancers early enough to produce a significant improvement in mortality figures,” said Roswig. “Our prior CT units did not have the technology to produce these studies, whereas our new CT scanners will be able to generate exquisite studies of this nature.”
The addition of the new machine has been four years in the making for the medical center and Radiology staff have been anxiously anticipating its arrival. The build-out preparation of the CT suite included moving an interior wall by one foot to accommodate the larger scanner, new flooring, a new ceiling and a fresh paint job. The new machine and minor renovations are part of an ongoing effort to provide Veterans with the best patient care experience possible when they visit VA.
