Lothian first to benefit from pioneering scanner

At Western General Hospital, Edinburgh, are (seated) superintendent radiographer Winton Fairbairn and radiology manager Lorraine Hudson.  Behind them, from left, are clinical director of radiology Dr Paul Allan, GE Healthcare’s Len Squance, associate director of operations Michael Pearson, consultant professor Jonathan Best and GE Healthcare’s John Mackenzie.

Patients in Lothian are the first in Scotland to benefit from a pioneering full body scanner, which combines two clinical tests in one scan.

The combined gamma camera/CT imaging system can enable physicians to more quickly and accurately diagnose  a range of conditions and has been in use at the Western General Hospital in Edinburgh since October last year.  Developed by GE Healthcare, the Discovery NM/CT 670 scanner means patients can now get a diagnosis in a single hospital visit rather than having two separate scanning appointments.  Combining both scans in one helps clinicians to accurately diagnose a range of conditions.

See the full report on page 31 of the April 2011 issue of RAD Magazine.