Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has a new star of the show in its diagnostics service with the arrival of a brand new CT scanner in radiology.
Now installed and working in the CT scanning suite at Bradford Royal Infirmary (BRI) after its long journey from Japan, via the Netherlands, the new £700,000 scanner has replaced the elder of the hospital’s scanners which has given 12 years’ service to the Trust.
Engineers from Canon UK completed its installation, customising the high-tech machine for the radiology team’s precise needs.
The Trust has three CT scanners – two at BRI and one at St Luke’s Hospital.
The new Cannon scanner strengthens the hospitals’ scanning capabilities as it produces better quality images than the old one and is able to do even more complex scans.
Technology moves on
For staff, it means quicker training to get to grips with the new scanner as it’s manufactured by Canon, which is the same make as their other scanners. As technology moves on so fast, it also delivers lower radiation doses than the old scanner.
Resembling a giant Polo Mint, the machine can scan a staggering 320 slices at a time, producing extremely detailed images that provide a diagnosis to help guide a patient’s care and treatment.
Kate Clough, principal superintendent radiographer, said the whole team was really excited to take ownership of the new scanner.
“We often forget just how important scanning services are in the NHS,” she said, “95% of all patients in hospital will visit radiology, and I can virtually guarantee that everyone will have some form of imaging, be that CT, MRI or ultrasound.
“We provide 24-hour cover in our department – both our staff and the scanners work very hard to provide patients with a great service that helps our doctors pinpoint injuries, illnesses and disease.”