New equipment provides guidance in the Interventional Radiography Suite
Imaging is often one of the first stops when a health problem happens. Our care providers need to see what is going on inside the body before they can figure out how to fix it. They rely on x-rays to look at bones, and ultrasounds to see muscles and organs. And sometimes, they use both!
Interventional Radiography (IR) is when x-ray and ultrasound machines are used together to help guide care providers through a medical procedure. These tools show a live video of the inside of the body as care providers work, helping them see what their eyes can’t.
While our hospital has had an IR Suite for a while, the equipment in it needed to be replaced this year. The new system hangs from the ceiling and can take pictures from every angle, helping staff move easily around the patient during a procedure.
The IR Suite at SAH is used daily for treatment, diagnostic procedures and other specialized exams. This technology can help avoid open surgery, meaning patients recover faster and can go home quicker.
The IR Suite is used to provide care for Cancer, Renal, and Cardiac patients – just to name a few! SAH depends on the IR Suite for many common procedures, like the placement of a peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) line. A PICC line gives care teams long-term access to patient’s veins. They can be used to give chemotherapy, medications, and nutrition. Accurate placement of a PICC line is important – and the tools in the IR suite help guide our care providers with precision and accuracy.
Our new IR Suite is here, thanks to donors!
The new technology in our IR Suite helps keep our hospital up-to-date. Minimally invasive procedures, where care providers rely on imaging tools to see what they’re doing, are the new standard. If our hospital wants to continue to attract new graduates, we need the tools that they are trained to use - like the ones in this IR Suite!
Advanced medical equipment comes at a cost: the price tag for the new IR equipment was just over $1.4 million. Support from our donor community helped bring these tools to our hospital, bringing this care close to home for thousands of patients in Algoma. Thank you!
The support of local donors helps SAH stay up-to-date with the latest equipment, making sure every patient is receiving top-of the line care.
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