New technology makes hospital image-conscious
GROVE CITY — The $2 million digital medical imaging technology advances at Grove City Medical Center have better equipped both physicians and patients.
The digital medical imaging department has developed in the past two years and has "reinforced the backbone of the hospital," said JoAnne Clobus, communications and marketing director.
Dr. Ken Humphreys, director of the department, said the new technology and equipment the hospital has invested in has made radiologists much more efficient.
Instead of using film and waiting for it to develop, they now have digital workstations that have three screens. One lists a patient's body part or organ along with an exam. Two other screens allow a doctor to scroll through digital images.
Because of the new system, the hospital has seen a significant reduction of activity in the paper and film storage room. More than 50,000 digital images have been taken in the hospital over the past year, Humphreys said.
"The board here has endorsed this evolution of technology and has realized that this community hospital should be as state-of-the-art as it can be," Humphreys said.
He said the new technology has minimized the delay between getting information and making medical decisions.
This past fall, a new digital CT scanner was installed, upgrading the hospital from a four-slice imaging system to a 64-slice. That, too, greatly increased image resolution and efficiency.
Humphreys said the new scanner also helps patients get out faster.
A gamma camera has been bought, which allows physicians to take pictures that show organ function and activity.
A digital ultrasound system is another part of the digital medical imaging technology at the hospital, and it saves both space and time for patients and physicians.
The latest equipment in the department is a digital mammography system."The diagnostics are paramount to everything we do," Clobus said. "With these state-of-the-art diagnostic tools, everyone benefits."Dr. Mark Schnurer of Brighton Radiology Associates is the medical director of the digital imaging department at the hospital. He said digital mammography helps the patient because diagnoses are made more quickly."With mammograms, most abnormal growths are benign, but this technology saves them from an unnecessary surgery and helps her prepare for treatments," Schnurer said.Humphreys said as technology improves and doctors continue to learn more with the evolution of the department, digital medical imaging will continue to play a key role in providing successful health care."It's here to stay and this board has bought into it," he said. "It's the key to success of medical imaging."
