New state-of-the-art Toshiba CT Scanner for The Holly Private Hospital
The Holly Private Hospital has invested in a new state-of-the-art Toshiba Aquilion Prime SP 160 CT scanner which will bring a wide range of benefits to patients and clinicians.
Over £650,000 is being invested at the award-winning hospital to bring patients the latest and most-up-to-date technology.
David Henderson, Hospital Director said: “We welcome this huge investment in our imaging technology which demonstrates our commitment to delivering exceptional healthcare to our patients.
Our new Toshiba Aquilion Prime SP 160 CT scanner will add to the already advanced suite of technology at The Holly Private Hospital, ensuring that our Diagnostics Department has the most advanced cross-sectional imaging platforms in the local area.”
Speaking about the investment Michele Fox, Imaging Services Manager and Aspen Group Radiology Lead said:
“The new Toshiba Aquilion Prime SP 160 CT scanner will provide excellent image quality at the lowest possible radiation dose to the patient, using the latest scanning technology. Our new scanner will allow us to carry out examinations covering all parts of the anatomy but what’s really exciting is that it will also allow us to introduce cardiac angiography scanning at The Holly. We’ll keep you informed of when we’re ready to launch this new service.
We are so excited to be able to offer our patients and referrers the most advanced imaging technology in CT scanning and look forward to welcoming even more patients to The Holly in the coming months.”
Installation of the new scanner
There will an eight week installation and handover period, starting Tuesday 24th October. CT scanning services will still be available but we will be using a top-of-the-range Toshiba Aquilion mobile scanner located adjacent to the front entrance of the hospital. Patients can still expect the high quality service they are used to and can benefit from the superior technology of this interim scanner.
A timeline of developments is provided below:
Tuesday 24th October: Mobile scanner arrives on site for an eight week period – located adjacent to the hospital entrance.
Wednesday 25th October: First patients scanned on the mobile CT in the afternoon.
Sunday 29th October: Old CT scanner removed from the site.
Monday 30th October: Building works being in CT scanner room. Impact on patients should be minimal.
Monday 27th November: New state-of-the-art Toshiba Aquilion Prime SP 160 CT arrives.
Monday 18th December: Handover of new CT scanner for use and first patients will be scanned.
Key benefits of the new Toshiba Aquilion Prime SP 160 CT scanner include:
Improved Patient experience and comfort
The Toshiba Aquilion Prime Scanner SP 160 CT scanner is designed to improve the patient experience and be comfortable for patients and incorporates:
- A wider bore (hole/space) which reduces patient claustrophobia and ideal for patients with limited range of movement and providing radiographers/radiologists easy access to the patient.
- A wider comfortable couch which lowers to only 33cm from the floor which facilitates enhanced patient comfort when getting on and off the scanner as well as throughout the scan.
- Customisable i-station for patient/radiographer communication which saves time by enabling the radiographer to communicate with the patient during the entire scanning process.
- The fast scanning capabilities of this scanner bring the scanning time to seconds or even sub-second. Minimising the length of time patients are required to hold their breath and be on the scanning table.
Low dose scanning
For routine diagnostics procedures the Toshiba Aquilion Prime SP 160 CT scanner offers improved patient safety with lower radiation dose and, in some instances, the benefit of performing a CT scan will far outweigh any risk associated with exposure to radiation.
This also means that in some cases it will be appropriate to scan paediatric patients whereas previously we were unable to do this.
Single energy metal artefact reduction (SEMAR)
SEMAR technology (unique to Toshiba Medical Systems Aquilion range of CT scanners)
means that patients who have had hip or knee replacements can use the scanner for diagnostic imaging.
Previously metal artefacts (such as a hip or knee implants) would have compromised the image quality of scans. However SEMAR technology is used to virtually eliminate metal artefacts
and we can use the Aquilion scanner to fully visualise patients post operatively in a way that has not been possible before.
Faster CT Colonography scanning
CT colonography is an established imaging technique that allows the visualisation of a patient’s colon from the inside without the use of an endoscope. The Aquilion PRIME enables the scan to be acquired faster with significant reduction of radiation to the radiosensitive bowel with excellent image quality. Historically, imaging the Colon was performed using a white liquid known as Barium Sulphate and imaged using multiple X-rays which was unpleasant for the patient and involved higher radiation dose. CT Colonography is more comfortable for the patient and is much faster and feels less invasive.
Cardiac scanning – new service available at The Holly Private Hospital
The new scanner will also allow us to introduce cardiac-angiography scanning at The Holly. Cardiac CT scanning of the coronary arteries can replace invasive coronary angiograms performed for diagnostic purposes with a non-invasive CT technique. The Aquilion PRIME can deliver cardiac scanning that is more comfortable for patients, lower risk and it is robust, reliable and reproducible.
For any enquiries regarding this new project please contact The Marketing Office by calling 020 8936 1215 or emailing info@theholly.com
Date: 23/10/2017
