Steve Brine attends opening of new CT Scanner at Winchester's hospital.
Patients at Winchester’s Royal Hampshire County Hospital can be diagnosed quicker and with greater accuracy thanks to a brand new ‘multislice’ scanner.
The ’64 slice’ CT (computerised tomography) scanner was officially opened on Monday (24 September 2007). It gives high definition images of any part of the body and can amalgamate 64 different views at the same time.
It takes only a few seconds to scan from head to toe and permits fast and accurate diagnosis. The speed of the scanner allows even rapidly moving objects such as the heart to be ‘frozen’ as well as creating instant 3D models on screen, which are used to make a diagnosis.
Dr Helena Taylor, Consultant Radiologist, said: “The new CT scanner is a real benefit to local people. It has state of the art technology, which enables scans to be done much faster and the images to be electronically manipulated at the touch of a button.”
The new scanner is fully connected to the hospital’s Picture Archive and Communication System (PACS) allowing clinicians to view the images on the wards and in clinics at all times so they can see exactly what the problem is.
Prospective Winchester MP, Steve Brine, attended the launch and added; “This is a fantastic new facility and welcome proof that the RHCH is a hospital moving towards the future with strength and confidence. It provides the very latest CT technology for the benefit of local patients and will help the radiologists, doctors and other health professionals to provide ever better treatment options.”
Additional benefits of the new scanner, include:
- Detailed imaging of arteries (previously requiring more invasive techniques)
- Detection of small nodules on the lung
- Excellent views of the colon which may avoid the need for an endoscopy
The Trust spent around £700,000 on the new scanner and its installation.
Dorothy Webb, who was the first patient to be scanned in the new machine said: “The technology involved is amazing and more complex than I could have imagined. I feel privileged to have been the first patient to have used the scanner and think that we are lucky to have such a fantastic facility at the hospital in Winchester."
Pictured above; Steve Brine (left) is shown the new scanner by Radiographer Stephen Ross (centre) and Chief Executive of Winchester & Eastleigh Healthcare NHS Trust, Martin Wakeley.