New mobile CT scanner arrives at RMH

Today, Ross Memorial Hospital marked an important milestone in the process of replacing the community’s CT scanner — the arrival of a mobile CT scanner at the hospital.

This is a key development as it will allow Ross staff to continue delivering CT imaging services to emergency and inpatients while the current CT scanner is disassembled, removed, and replaced with a new model. That work, along with the training of staff on the new technology, is expected to last into late June.

New CT scanners provide increasingly accurate images and data to help the physicians provide a confident diagnosis – and they do it with a lower dose of radiation, which is safer for patients. Ross Memorial Hospital conducts roughly 12,000 exams using its CT scanner every year. The current CT scanner is now a decade old and after continual use, it has reached the end of its useful lifespan.

Some examples of when a CT scan may be used to provide an effective diagnosis or treatment include;

• •  patients who have been in a car accident and may have internal injuries
  •  patients who may have suffered a stroke
  • patients suffering chest pain or pain in their extremities that may be caused by blood clots
  • cancer patients who need regular CT imaging to see if their treatment is effective or if their cancer is spreading.

The mobile CT scanner is located in the truck at the Kent Street entrance, close to the Diagnostic Imaging Department. Some parking will be displaced for placement of the trailer, however, traffic will be able to pass easily.

“A CT scanner plays a significant role,” in hospital care says Kelly Isfan, president and CEO of RMH. “Our staff and physicians use it every single day to diagnose disease and injury, as well as guide surgeries and cancer treatments.”

Dr. Jamie McNabb, general surgeon at RMH, said he is “keenly aware of how important it is for patients to get CT scans as quickly as possible.”

“To localize internal bleeding, to diagnose blood clots and stroke, and to guide cancer treatments – CT imaging is a critical component of how we plan our patients’ safest path forward.”

The cost of the new CT scanner is not covered by government funding. This essential acquisition would not be possible without the community’s support through donations to the RMH Foundation. Currently, letters are being delivered throughout the City of Kawartha Lakes to encourage donations to the Partners in Precision Care appeal, which is helping to fund the new CT Scanner. People may also give online at rmh.org/foundation.