X-Ray Fluoroscopy Campaign

State-of-the-art X-ray equipment purchased for the Yorkton Regional Health Centre by The Health Foundation in 2002 gave residents of the health region more enhanced radiology services and continued excellent care close to home.

The Easy Diagnost was purchased for about $430,000 with funds raised by The Health Foundation's Giving...it's great medicine! campaign. It is used primarily for performing studies of the upper gastrointestinal tract. However it is a versatile machine and most procedures can be performed on it in the event the health centre's other equipment is not functioning.

The system is the first in the region to use digital imaging technology, allowing technologists and radiologists to review, select and label images on a computer monitor without any need for darkroom processing or film handling. The equipment allows for more efficient handling of the department's workload, and better service for the patient. Among the benefits are reduced radiation exposure for the patients, especially for babies and children because of special features that have been built into the machine's software; better images compared to traditional X-rays; equipment that is easier to work with for staff; and greater efficiency because images are previewed on a computer screen and only those that are needed are printed.

The digital images produced by the equipment can be archived on a networked computer system so that specialists and physicians in locations throughout the region can access them instantly. It also has the potential to transmit images to other centres for a second opinion or if the patient is transferred. One of the major benefits at the time was that it allowed the radiology department to keep waiting lists manageable, because it allowed the health centre to continue to operate with two fluoroscopy units, replacing an aging machine that was 20 years old.