KEARNEY – CHI Health Good Samaritan recently added a new $2.6 million Positron Emission Tomography-Computed Tomography (PET/CT) imaging system to their Radiology Services. Unique technology to the region, the high-tech images capture changes at the cellular level, identifying diseases like cancer, in its earliest stages.
The system was funded by an anonymous donation to the hospital’s Foundation. It replaces a previous PET/CT installed in 2006.
The GE Discovery MI, 64 slice CT with PET imaging visualizes the body’s biological activity to help evaluate infection, inflammation, cardiac viability, cancer, and neurodegenerative processes like dementia. It can also help monitor a patient’s response to therapy.
With this advanced technology, Good Samaritan radiologists will now be able to detect lesions as small as 4 mm, compared to 8-9 mm with standard scanners. The system also monitors a patient’s breathing and adjusts for image distortion. Specialists are able to use these clearer and more precise images for targeted therapies such as radiation.
In addition, imaging times are expected to decrease by up to 50% requiring less repositioning and decreasing radiation exposure. These improvements are particularly impactful for patients who are short of breath, in pain, or require frequent scans.
