Greenslopes Private Hospital (GPH) has just installed the new Siemens Biograph mCT Flow 64 PET/CT scanner early this month. GPH is the first private hospital to install this kind of scanner in South East Queensland. The scanner and associated equipment are now housed in the new Queensland X-Ray facility on the GPH’s lower ground level.
Modern Scanner to Benefit the Patients
Siemens Biograph mCT Flow 64 is built to reduce imaging time for patients. It is not a typical “one-size-fits-all” scanner that uses complex approach. Other scanners usually take a longer time to perform scans due to their “stop-and-go” technology. Siemens Biograph mCT Flow 64 uses FlowMotion technology that can standardize imaging protocolos, whilst ensuring personalized scans in a single, continuous, and fast scan.
In Queensland, there is one person diagnosed with cancer every 20 minutes. According to the data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, cancer (lung cancer, specifically) is one of the top five causes of death in Australia, accounting to 8,410 deaths.
The new technology in GPH can help in the early detection and treatment of cancer. The scanner will be used to stage and restage most cancers, such as prostate, colorectal, breast, and lung cancers.
The scanner can also detect some indicators of Alzheimer’s Disease. Queensland X-Ray PET/CT Coordinator John Barlow mentioned that some PET tracers can detect osteoblastic processes and amyloid presence in the brain. The scanner can measure how active a tumor is.
“The most common PET study involves an injection of a radioactive glucose which is metabolised by tumour cells. The PET/CT scanner is used to measure how much of the tracer is metabolised and therefore how active the tumour is,” Mr. Barlow said.
More innovations and developments to come
Posted by Greenslopes Private Hospital on Wednesday, June 14, 2017
The site where the new scanner are located is also fitted with real-time radiation monitoring system, which means that GPH will be able to track radiation levels using an advanced technology.
GPH is also planning to move one of its Nuclear Medicine departments to the same location later this year. Once the plan commences, patients will be able to access dozens of additional tests in GPH, such as bone scans, gastrointestinal studies, myocardial perfusions scans, and thyroid scans.
Today, GPH is busy developing and constructing the Nicholson Street Specialist Centre. The specialist centre is foreseen to provide 30 additional medical consulting suites, all of which are expected to open late next year.