VIDEO: Rockhampton Hospital snaps up new gamma camera
ROCKHAMPTON Hospital has gone nuclear with the installation of new medical imaging equipment.
The GE Discovery 670 Gamma Camera was provided by CQ Radiology for the provision of nuclear medicine services.
The tests conducted with the machine involve the administration of very small amounts of injectable radioactive material.
The material collects in a particular part of the body, such as the bones, lungs or the digestive system, where the camera is then used to produce an image of the radioactive substance in organs and tissue to detect areas of disease.
The machine can be used to service up to 10 patients a day.
CQ Radiology managing director Dr Siavash Es'haghi said the new camera delivered diagnostic confidence with the precise detection and localisation of diseases.
"This is one of the first of its kind in the region... we will do a range of scanning such as thyroid scan, cardiac scan and bone scan," he said.
"Rockhampton is now a major servicing centre for all of Central Queensland... it is essential for a hospital this size to have these services available on site."
Dr Es'haghi said patients were being transferred to other centres to access this particular service prior to its inclusion to CQ.
The gamma camera doubles as a computed tomography (CT) scan machine and can be used if the hospital's existing CT machine is non-operational.
