New CT Scanner in University Hospital
A modern CT scanner dedicated, among others, to examine patients with suspected coronavirus infection was officially commissioned on 16 June 2020. The symbolic ribbon was cut, among others, by Prof. Marek Masnyk, Rector of the UO, Andrzej Buła, Marshal of the Opole Voivodeship, Dariusz Madera, Director of the University Hospital, and Dr Katarzyna Sznajder, Head of the Department of Diagnostic Imaging at the UH.
- This is a very important day for us, because we are putting into operation a second CT scanner in our hospital, the use of which will significantly increase our diagnostic capabilities and affect the safety of patients - said Dariusz Madera. - The purchase of this modern CT scanner was possible thanks to the support of the Marshal's Office, which donated 5 million PLN from the Regional Operational Programme. In addition to the CT scanner, we also purchased ventilators and personal protective equipment from this donation. I would like to thank the Marshal, our donor, for such great support in the fight against the coronavirus. We are very grateful for that.
- Sometimes I wonder what scale to take to express my gratitude? After all, it is circulating amongst us in these difficult times - said Marshal Buła in turn. - We are grateful to you who are standing at the post, who are at your posts in the hospital. We can ask you what you need and respond to these expectations reasonably promptly, like it was also this time.
- On June 14th it had been three years since we handed over the hospital to the University of Opole,' said the Marshal to Professor Masnyk.- For three years you have done a lot as a university, you have used your chance. A lot of good things have happened and I believe that it shall still be so, and we will gladly join these great plans with our funding.
- We are extremely grateful that we can take advantage of the support offered by the Marshal, and that we can always count on it - thanked Professor Masnyk.
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The new CT scanner was installed in the Department of Diagnostic Imaging at the University Hospital. It was purchased as part of the task " Coronavirus Prevention". The project is co-financed by the European Union from the funds of the European Regional Development Fund as part of the Regional Operational Programme of the Opole Region for the years 2014-2020.
The new CT scanner is Somatom go.Up - a 64-layer scanner, which allows to perform CT examinations in the full range of applications of this imaging method. This device offers a number of innovative solutions that allow to obtain high quality images and increase the patients' comfort during the examination. Somatom go.Up is equipped with a camera that lets the operator monitor the patient throughout the examination. The new design of the workstation and the option of remote control of the camera provides better care for the patient.
The new CT scanner allows for examinations at low radiation doses, which significantly increases patients' safety. It also enables scanning long ranges in a single breath stop with high spatial resolution of images, which is particularly important for chest CT examinations, e.g. of patients with suspected covid-19, but also for lung cancer screening.
An integral part of the purchased system is also a medical diagnostic station, which thanks to computer aided diagnosis systems allows radiologists to assess the obtained images faster and more accurately.
It is noteworthy that the Somatom go.Up camera was delivered and put into operation in a very short time, as it took only two weeks with the necessary construction work. Thanks to the company's individualised training including direct learning and online training, the staff who operate the CT camera started their training even before the delivery of the system, which, despite the pandemic, allowed them to quickly take full advantage of the scanner. By now, almost 200 tests have been completed with it.