 OMH Becomes First Hospital in Okmulgee, Surrounding Counties to Employ New CT Technology
OKMULGEE, Okla. – Okmulgee Memorial Hospital recently installed a new, state-of-art Volume Computed Tomography system.
The new LightSpeed VCT allows OMH health care professionals to easily diagnose diseases and life-threatening illnesses, such as cardiovascular disease, stroke and chest pain, that would have been extremely difficult to diagnose with older technology.
“Existing model machines can’t do a CT of the heart, but our new Volume CT machine allows us to capture images of the whole heart and coronary arteries in only eight heartbeats,” said Charles Remer, Director of Diagnostic Services. “The machine also dramatically reduces the time it takes to do CT scans, making it much easier on the patients”
The VCT system scans organs in one second and performs chest and abdomen scans in ten seconds, where older model CT machines take about 50 seconds for organs and about 15 minutes for chest and abdomen scans. This is an extremely important factor for geriatric, ventilator dependent and pediatric patients, who find it difficult to perform breath holds for long amounts of time.
“Volume CT is patient friendly,” Remer said. “Fast scans can help reduce patient stress and anxiety, and some Volume CT procedures can be done in one simple exam.”
When examining the heart, the VCT system is programmed to instantly review and rule-out aortic dissection, pulmonary embolism and coronary artery disease, which are the three primary causes of mortality in patients complaining of chest pain.
The VCT system also helps identify stroke victims through rapid imaging of the blood vessels in the brain.
“Stroke is caused by a blood clot becoming lodged in a blood vessel and restricting blood flow to a part of the brain, and if it’s not treated immediately it can cause irreparable damage to the brain or death,” Remer said. “Using the VCT system we can instantly diagnose and treat stroke patients.”
The new VCT machine also produces three-dimensional scans, where older model machines can only create two-dimensional images. This 3D modeling allows a physician to actually rotate the images to get a more precise anatomical look at a patient.
The LightSpeed VCT can produce a three-dimensional view of the patient’s anatomy by 64 high-resolution anatomical images as thin as a credit card. These images are produced in a single rotation, which takes only 1.5 seconds to complete.
“Three-dimensional images, allow us at OMH to view blockages in the coronary arteries, as well as the motion and pumping action of a patient’s heart,” Remer said. This is something that would be impossible on older model CT machines, and we’re so excited to be the first to offer this technology in Okmulgee and three surrounding counties because we know it will greatly benefit our patients.
The new VCT machine is one of many updates the hospital has recently made to better serve the community.
“We’ve upgraded several of our diagnostic units and updated our facility. Our end goal is to serve Okmulgee and the surrounding communities by providing the highest quality of care to our patients. We want to provide as many services as we can to prevent our friends and families from having to travel out of our community for care,” said Rex Jones, OMH CEO. “This CT is truly an incredible asset and we are proud to be able to offer it to our patients.”
For more information call 918.758.3142 or e-mail asimpson@okmulgeehospital.com.
About Okmulgee Memorial Hospital Okmulgee Memorial Hospital is a 66-bed non-profit community hospital serving Okmulgee County in Northeastern Oklahoma. The hospital’s goal is to provide optimal care in an efficient manner to all its patients.
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