June 23, 2008 — An important Radiology Department service at Schneider Regional Medical Center, the nuclear medicine camera, hasn't worked for several weeks. Meanwhile, patients who need to be tested using the camera are being referred to medical facilities off island.
"We recognize that this interruption of a valuable service, while temporary, is an inconvenience to our patients and physicians," medical center President and Chief Executive Officer Amos Carty Jr. said in a news release.
Medical Center spokesman Sam Topp said Monday that hospital officials are currently negotiating with GE Healthcare whether to lease or buy a $450,000 nuclear medicine camera called SPECT. SPECT stands for single photon emission computed tomography.
Nuclear medicine imaging procedures such as SPECT scans are noninvasive and usually painless medical tests that help physicians analyze the function of internal organs, according to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. Among the uses of nuclear medicine scans are assessing kidney function, tracking the metastasis of cancers, visualizing heart function and blood flow, and helping to assess brain disorders such as Alzheimer's disease, epilepsy, and schizophrenia.
Whether the medical center decides to buy or lease a SPECT imaging camera depends on the financing terms that can be reached with GE.
"By the end of the month we should have a plan," Topp said
It will take another four to six weeks to get the camera in place once a decision is made. According to the press release, the room that will house the unit is being prepared with proper insulation.
Topp said that on average, eight patients a week used the service. However, those patients may undergo multiple tests with the camera.
The medical center plans to upgrade the broken camera. Andy Phillips, the facilities materials management director, said in the press release that it is nearly 15 years old and can no longer be serviced at reasonable cost. The manufacturer no longer offers a service contract, which forced the medical center to contract for services with an outside source at a premium cost.
Phillips says that the old unit was breaking down frequently, resulting in unacceptably high repair costs.
SPECT technology is more advanced than that being replaced, and has the advantage of being upgradeable.
"It's state of the art," Topp said.
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