Royal Oldham expands interventional radiology with Artis icono ceiling

Royal Oldham Hospital, part of the Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust, has upgraded its interventional radiology equipment, becoming the first in the UK to install the Artis icono ceiling from Siemens Healthineers. The new equipment allows Royal Oldham Hospital to expand its existing services to provide procedures not previously available at the hospital, while supporting the redirection of some patients away from its high demand CT scanners.
“The biggest difference we have seen since the implementation of the Artis icono ceiling is the improved image quality that can be achieved without increasing radiation dose to patients,” said interventional radiology and fluoroscopy manager Helena Hill. “The new equipment will enable us to do more, and the addition of needle guidance will support greater accuracy and clinical confidence in biopsies and complex procedures.”
Providing emergency and non-emergency interventional radiology services, the hospital performs vascular and non-vascular work along with a variety of other procedures from angioplasties to nephrostomies, liver biopsies, drainages and fibroid embolisations. The installation of the Artis icono enables the expansion of these services, replacing existing floor-mounted equipment with a ceiling-mounted system for greater flexibility in the interventional suite.
With the Artis icono ceiling in place, consultants have noticed a reduced number of digital subtraction angiography procedures needed during fibroid embolisation due to improved image quality. Plans are also underway to introduce a urology service and interventional radiologists hope to perform prostate artery embolisations.
Omni Spin technology on the new equipment enables 3D image acquisition in as little as 2.5 seconds. Embolisation and needle-guided procedures will benefit from submillimetre accuracy enabling consistently high image quality, accuracy, shorter procedure times and greater clinical confidence at the lowest reasonably achievable dose.
Picture: Radiographer Jan Carlo Francisco, lead nurse Lorraine Edgar, staff nurse Suzanne Crutchley, IR and fluoro manager Helena Hill, consultant radiologist Dr R Narlawar, radiographer Jordan Hollingsworth, staff nurse Karen Timms, lead radiographer Vickie Spencer, staff nurse Tom Hardman, radiographers Flore Obodou and Nicola Curran, with staff nurse Bashir Siddiqi.
Published on page 9 of the June issue of RAD Magazine.