Gerald Lynch
A Victorian-first scanner has arrived at Sunshine Hospital, making it easier and quicker for cancer and cardiac patients to access the care they need.
The single-photon emission computer tomography (SPECT-CT) scanner is helping specialists deliver faster, more detailed results.
The scanner provides functional information, showing radiologists how blood flows to tissue and organs and with the use of radioactive tracers and can provide scans of different parts of the body – helping to identify blood clots, heart attacks or the spread of cancer to bones.
The SPECT-CT scanner combines two different types of scans, and provides precise information about how different body parts are working and more clearly identifies problems to help guide treatment and improve patient outcomes.
Diggers Rest local and breast cancer survivor Jean requires a full-body bone scan every three months. The new machine has helped streamline her care, with the time spent in the scanner reduced from 50 minutes to less than 30 minutes.
Factoring in her 40 minute round trip to Sunshine Hospital, done at least four times a year, the new scanner gives Jean time back with her family.
“It’s always a pleasure to be at Sunshine Hospital – the staff there are wonderfully kind, and I look forward to seeing them – but not having to spend so much time in the scanner is much more convenient. I’ve had one scan in the brand-new scanner so far, and I felt more comfortable. When I got off, I thought ‘gee, that was quick,” Jean said.
Chief nuclear medicine technologist Melanie Tempest said the scanner has improved the lives of patients beyond their experience of being scanned.
“For patients with discomfort in the scanner, that may get anxious or claustrophobic, it’s a much better experience because it’s faster, which is important to the patient… But at the same time, the improved image quality allows us to pick up abnormalities and smaller changes earlier,” she said.
St Albans MP Natalie Suleyman said the scanner would improve the healthcare of residents.
“With this groundbreaking new scanner at Sunshine Hospital, patients in Melbourne’s west like Jean, are able to access more timely and efficient care closer to home,” she said.
Shorter scanning periods also means the new machine will be available to more cardiac and cancer patients overall, helping specialists at Sunshine Hospital treat more patients sooner.
As part of the new scanner being introduced, the room has received a facelift to promote relaxation and comfort for patients young and old.
Softer lighting, and decals and graphics on the walls and ceilings were brought in to improve the overall experience of having to be scanned.
