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Public Relations / Marketing Officer
David Bruzzese
For Immediate Release Mercy Regional Medical Center to offer "low dose" CT scans DURANGO, CO - Mercy Regional Medical Center in the first week of January will upgrade its computed tomography (CT) scanner with technology that will lower the radiation dose to patients while maintaining the ability to capture high quality images of bodily structures. The upgrade will make Mercy's among the first "low-dose" CT scanners in the Four Corners region. "The enhancement of our CT scanner will complement and extend the range of quality diagnostic services that we offer residents of the Four Corners region," said Dennis Soappman, Mercy's director of diagnostic imaging. "With the addition of this technology, we can capture high quality images with dramatically lower radiation dose to patients. This is especially beneficial for children and young adults who are more susceptible to harm from excessive radiation exposure," Soappman said. The new technology, GE's ASiR(tm) (Adaptive Statistical Iterative Reconstruction), is an advanced image reconstruction technique that makes it possible to reduce radiation dose to patients by up to 40 percent without compromising the quality of the image. Computed tomography is a diagnostic exam that may be used to help diagnose illness or injury when a physician suspects a medical problem that is not easily detectable with a conventional physical examination. Mercy's GE LightSpeed(R) VCT 64-slice scanner uses multiple X-rays to capture a series of highly detailed anatomical images in very thin cross-sections, or "slices." Mercy's CT scanner can capture up to 64 images with each complete rotation of the X-ray beam around a patient. Using computers, the slices can be reconstructed into three-dimensional renderings of bodily structures such as organs, blood vessels, or bones. The low-dose upgrade was partially funded through a generous donation to Mercy Health Foundation. For more information about CT services at Mercy Regional Medical Center, visit mercydurango.org or call (970) 247-4311. Mercy Regional Medical Center is is a full-service, acute care hospital. As a not-for-profit medical hospital and member of Catholic Health Initiatives, Mercy is committed to improving the health and wellness of the communities it serves. See www.mercydurango.org for more information. Catholic Health Initiatives is a national nonprofit health organization with headquarters in Denver. The faith-based system includes 77 hospitals; 40 long-term care, assisted- and residential-living facilities; and two community health-services organizations in 20 states. Catholic Health Initiatives ranks as the nation's second-largest Catholic health care system. See www.catholichealthinitiatives.org for more information. # # # |
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