Jay Saxon had a brain bleed and without access to a CT scan, he never would have known what was causing him to collapse. Fred Stilwell might not have known that he had cancer if he had not received an MRI scan to determine his hip pain was caused by a mass. Marty VanWell had cancer in her appendix, back and colon. Without a CT scan at Island Health, she would not have had life-saving surgery in time to save her life.
What do each of these stories have in common?
Their lives were saved or transformed by Diagnostic Technologies.
Diagnostic Imaging is at the center of healthcare because it supports nearly every aspect of care at Island Health. From a mother’s first ultrasound after discovering she is pregnant to a patient’s journey towards palliative care when he or she receives a terminal diagnosis, diagnostic technologies are here to treat, prevent, guide and inform a care team of what is happening inside the body.
Thanks to the generous giving by guests at the 20th annual Gala of Hope on April 29th, $328,000 was raised to support key diagnostic technology upgrades that will expand and elevate imaging capabilities. Most notably is the upgrade of mammography software from a 3D image to high definition (HD). This simple upgrade will increase early cancer detention which is one of the most important strategies for preventing deaths from breast cancer. According to the American Cancer Society, “Breast cancer that’s found early, when it’s small and has not spread, is easier to treat successfully.” Other upgrades include an MRI safe monitor so that patients’ vital signs can be monitor in the act of having an MRI scan, and a trauma X-Ray detector which converts X-Ray images into a digital format, thus producing a higher quality image using less radiation.
These critical upgrades will empower providers to understand what is going on inside a patient’s body and enable providers to determine the best course of action, and in some cases, save a patient’s life.