News | Press Release
November 10, 2016
Diagnostic Imaging Team at Guelph General Hospital celebrate their ability to enhance local services during MRT Week
MRT week celebrates the essential role that medical radiation technologists (MRTs) play in the healthcare system. At Guelph General Hospital (GGH), their 3 newly acquired medical imaging devices will enable staff to deliver enhanced services to the region, including local access for the community of Guelph. The new Toshiba Medical Ultimax™-i and Infinix™-i systems have already demonstrated improved image quality and workflow efficiency, resulting in better patient care. Three additional Aplio™ 500 Platinum Ultrasound systems have enabled them to launch Breast Assessment Day during which the diagnosis period for the patient decreased significantly from a month to less than a week.
The increased image quality of the Toshiba Medical Diagnostic systems is a benefit to all. It enables the MRT’s to be more efficient at getting the image they need to the physician quickly as many features can be applied to the image during image review, enabling very comprehensive and thorough exams. One example of this is a Modified Barium Swallow; an exam that allows for the assessment of a patient’s swallowing ability following degenerative diseases or illnesses, such as stroke. Previously, these exams were done by setting up a video camera to record the imaging screen, capturing a record of the study for review and diagnosis. This required additional time in set-up, decreased image quality, and as a result a delay in diagnosis. The new system provides better quality image and has the capability to capture the image, enabling much clearer diagnostics of the patient’s situation.
GGH is the designated Bariatric Centre of Excellence, by focusing on the needs of both patient and the referring physicians; the capability of the new imaging equipment allows them to carry through with exams without past restrictions. In many cases, GGH had to send these patients elsewhere. With the new Ultimax™-i and Infinix™-i, the advanced technology, features, and how the system was engineered, allows for easier access for both the patient and hospital staff.
“Not only are we obtaining better images at a lower dose rate the new systems have allowed us to expand our services”, states Dr. Samir Patel, Chief Radiologist at GGH. An example includes procedures such as vertebroplasty and facet injections which are both treatment procedures for spinal pain management.
The MRT team, headed by the Team Lead Mark Lovallo, is enthusiastic about the Breast Assessment Day program they developed. The team created the concept and it came to fruition as generous donations made it possible to purchase of three new Toshiba Medical Ultrasound Systems. Today, the hospital staff collaborates before a patient arrives and determines which procedures will be critical for the individual patient based on their clinical history. This allows patients at GGH to have all required tests done within the same day. The result: patients do not have to undergo multiple trips to the hospital, have shorter wait times and there is decreased overall stress for the patient and family. Most importantly results are received within 1/3 of the time compared to last year.
"Delivering better patient care is a common goal between GGH and Toshiba Medical" says Jens Dettmann, President & CEO, Canon Medical Systems Canada. “Delivering solutions with advanced applications and superior image quality is important to me as we aim to provide safer and more accessible services for both hospital staff and patients in Guelph. Workflow efficiency improvements and enabling the development of new programs such as Breast Assessment day are only the beginning of what can now be accomplished. We congratulate the Diagnostic team at GGH for recognizing what is important and valued for the healthcare of their community.”
“The Guelph General Hospital MRT team is very dedicated to their role in the community and their efforts are to be commended this week”, states Jennifer Meher, Manager of Diagnostic Imaging, GGH. “It is a pleasure to come to work each day when you know you are making such a difference.”
About Toshiba Medical Systems Canada Limited
Toshiba Canada Medical Systems (TCMS), a Canon Group company headquartered in Markham, Ontario, provides patient-focused imaging technologies with specialties in CT, X-Ray, Angiography, Ultrasound and MRI. Advanced service solutions range from single-room coverage to complete asset management programs.
All sales, services and operations are Canadian-based, with a strong presence of technical service employees in more than 25 cities across the country. Reporting directly to Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation provides close ties to our research, engineering and product specialists, enabling the Canadian team to influence product decisions and delivery for the needs of our customers. For more information, visit www.toshiba-medical.ca.
About Toshiba Medical
Toshiba Medical offers a full range of diagnostic medical imaging solutions including Ultrasound, CT, X-Ray, and MR, across the globe. As of December 2016, Toshiba Medical became a member of the Canon Group. In line with our continued Made for Life philosophy, patients are at the heart of everything we do. Our mission is to provide medical professionals with solutions that support their efforts in contributing to the health and wellbeing of patients worldwide so that together our industry-leading solutions deliver an enriched quality of life.
