NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 15, 2011
 
Brockville General Hospital Acquires New CT Scanner

Leeds/Grenville—It’s great healthcare news for the residents of Brockville and area, no matter how you slice it.

Thanks to the quick work of BGH Diagnostic Imaging (DI) Department, BGH Board of Governors Executive Committee and Toshiba Canada, Brockville General Hospital will substantially upgrade its CT capabilities at a substantially reduced cost.

“Each year, the Radiological Society of North America has a large conference and equipment show in Chicago,” explains Debbie Wilson, Manager of DI for BGH. “Manufacturers bring new equipment to demonstrate. This scanner was one Toshiba brought this year.”

Toshiba could not sell the demo model as new, so the company made it available to their representatives in Canada to sell at a discount. The salesperson serving BGH contacted the hospital last month, wondering if there was any interest. Wilson and Dr. Jonathan Lasich, BGH Chief of DI, traveled to Hull to view a similar scanner in operation. Impressed, both recommended making the purchase for BGH if possible. The Toshiba offer was found to be in accord with the Broader Public Sector Guidelines and subsequently forwarded to the Board of Governors Executive Committee, where it was accepted.

CT or Computed Axial Tomography Scanners (often called CAT Scans) offer a more sophisticated diagnostic image over the X-ray.  CT imaging uses X-ray equipment and computers to produce multiple images or pictures inside the body. Each picture is called a “slice” and these are merged digitally to produce a cross-section image of the area under study.

The current CT Scanner at BGH was purchased in 2003, and is a four-slice scanner. The new model is a Toshiba Aquilion 64/128 slice machine, the highest resolution needed for services at a primary and secondary care facility such as BGH.

“Higher performance in image quality and speed will truly contribute to the enhancement of care for our patients,” says Wilson. “Our patient throughput will be faster and the quality of images superior to our existing scanner, thereby optimizing productivity and enhancing diagnosis.”

As a new model, the Aquilion Scanner sells at between $1.1 and $1.3 million, depending on the options chosen. Toshiba is removing the current machine at BGH and providing the new one fully installed for only $740,000—a savings of over 40%. Changes to the current scanning room to accommodate the installation will cost an estimated additional $10,000.

The transition begins at noon on March 18th, with the last scan on the old machine. Removal and installation will take about two weeks, with CT services expected to resume April 4th. Kingston General Hospital will assist with Emergency and Urgent In-patient CT scan requests during the transition.

“The Hospital is extremely pleased to be able to work with Toshiba to provide upgraded CT Scanner services to our community,” says Ray Marshall, BGH President and CEO.  “Our existing scanner has been in operation since the fall of 2003 and is nearing the end of its useful life.  We had been thinking about a replacement scanner for a number of months, but the regular price tag of $1.1 to $1.3 Million was a major hurdle. 

“The substantial discount offered by Toshiba for this particular unit was a huge incentive,” he continues. “This machine will enable us to perform tests that, up to now, people had to travel to Kingston or Ottawa to receive.  This upgrade supports our goal of making healthcare services more accessible to the people of Leeds & Grenville.”

For more information, please contact:

Maggie Wheeler Communications Officer BROCKVILLE GENERAL HOSPITAL 613-345-5649 Ext. 1-1504

Healthy people – Outstanding Care

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