SAN ANTONIO -- Proper imaging is crucially important to the care of hospital patients. Now, San Antonio’s University Hospital has new technology that’s making the radiology process safer and faster.
The newest tools making the rounds at University Hospital are mobile digital imaging machines. They are capable of delivering x-ray images in seconds.
“We don’t have minutes or hours to wait on things,” explained University Hospital’s director of radiology Rick Pena. “The doctors, they need to make decisions. This is provided in real time.”
Once the image is taken, the results are transmitted through the Wi-Fi network to radiologists who read them on the spot, speeding care.
Patients are exposed to less than 50 percent the radiation than with current technology. That’s important, especially when patients are having multiple procedures.
“The image quality on these is just tremendous,” Pena said. “And when you have good image quality, you feel good about the diagnostics that you provide.
X-ray technologists take about 140 x-rays of patients in the hospital each day, more than 4,000 images a month.
With 12 floors to cover, taking the imaging to the bedside is an advantage for staff and patients. That’s why these new machines are a welcome addition.
“We’re very excited about its capabilities,” Pena added.
The hospital also has the capability to do bedside nuclear imaging studies and ultrasounds.
