It’s the news we’d been waiting for! The Gamma Camera, which had been the Friends major fundraising project for 2024, had finally arrived in the Radiology Department of the DGH. A visit was scheduled, and we met the team who had taken receipt of this £500k piece of equipment, all fully funded by the Friends and its supporters.
The team who invited us in, comprising Consultant Radiologist Dr Emma Owens, Nuclear Medicine Manager Chris Salt, and radiographers Jo and Sam, all spoke passionately about the new machine. So many benefits were explained to us, but essentially this camera means that the length of time taken for each scan is now reduced, lower doses of CT radiation are required, and images are produced at a much clearer resolution. This means more patients can eventually be seen, and waiting lists and potential diagnoses and treatments confirmed sooner.
Combining both nuclear medicine and CT, the biggest advantage of the new gamma camera is that it will create a hybrid image which will give both detailed structural information, as well as a unique perspective of the functional aspects of physiological processes within the body.
Furthermore, the patient care during each scan has been enhanced, with the extra room in the new scanner causing much less anxiety in patients for whom claustrophobia may once have made things more difficult. The movement of the bed to a very low level has made it easier for those who found it hard to get themselves up to the right level, and has also removed the requirement for steps where children were the patients. The calming images in the lightbox overhead further reduces stress in anxious patients, or those who may be in for longer scans – sometimes with a time requirement of almost 2 hours.
In the case of scans which once took 15 minutes, the time is now down to 5 minutes, not only making the process much quicker for the patient, but meaning that If there has been any problem clearly capturing the right images, there is time for the scan can be repeated within the same appointment, negating the need for a second booking.
Aware that their enthusiasm, and the amount of more technical information they were imparting, may have bewildered the non-clinical among us, Chris Salt succinctly summed it up: Faster Speed, Lower Doses, Better Resolution!
They thanked the Friends whole-heartedly, drawing attention to a plaque which the team had created and hung in the waiting area to draw awareness to the Friends’ donation, and asking us expressly to thank all our supporters who had fundraised or donated and helped us to reach this incredible target for a piece of vital equipment. We are very proud to have been able to support this dedicated team.
