News

New Low Radiation Dose CT scanners for Midland and Bethesda Hospital branches

All patients, particularly children and the elderly, in the Midland and Claremont areas will benefit from the recent installation of new state of the art CT scanners at Perth Radiological Clinic’s Victoria Street Radiology branch in Midland and Bethesda Hospital site, Claremont. 

The new scanners, which are equipped with the latest radiation dose reduction software, produce images of exquisite quality but at a dramatically reduced radiation dose. Depending on the region of the body being imaged the radiation dose can be reduced by up to 50 to 70 percent compared to a conventional CT scanner. This makes the scanner ideal for imaging paediatric patients and young adults, said Dr Rodney Greenberger, managing radiologist at the Midland site.

Another improvement in technology is speed. Because the new scanners can acquire images in just seconds the need for patients to hold their breath is greatly reduced making the scanner ideal for elderly or unwell patients. It will be a much more comfortable experience for our elderly patients and for patients who are either unwell or in pain said Dr Greenberger. Often patients need to hold their hands above their head or they might need to lie in a position that is painful for them so if they only need to do this for a very short time it will make a big difference to them. In addition there is less chance of the images being distorted due to breathing artifacts or patient movement so the images produced are of a much higher quality.

This is great news for the Midland region as this is the first private scanner of its kind to be operational in the area. Previously private patients would have to travel out of the area to have access to this technology.

The new scanners will perform imaging of the abdomen, chest, spine, head and joints and are now both fully operational.

All scans performed on the new scanners will be stored electronically on Perth Radiological Clinic’s state of the art digital network for at least the next seven years.

The new low radiation dose CT scanners located at Victoria Street Radiology in Midland and Bethesda Hospital, Claremont, are ideal for imaging paediatric patients as well as young adults and the elderly. Pictured – Midland scanner with Chief Radiographer Emma Brown.