OhioHealth Doctors Hospital Is Utilizing Nuclear Medicine Technology To Improve Cardiovascular, Neurology and Oncology Patient Care
OhioHealth Doctors Hospital is continuing its partnership with GE HealthCare, a global medical technology, pharmaceutical diagnostics, and digital solutions innovator, to introduce the StarGuide SPECT/CT system into the organization. StarGuide is an advanced SPECT/CT system that helps physicians better understand and detect patients’ conditions, has improved image quality, and reduces the radiation dose and time the patients are on the scanner, by 75 percent.
Doctors Hospital is the sixth hospital in the country to utilize this. The system is located in the Nuclear Department at Doctors Hospital at the East entrance.
“We have a wonderful partnership with GE HealthCare already and we utilize GE HealthCare CT and ultrasound within our radiology department,” Nathan Pierce, Doctors Hospital manager of business operations said, “The new equipment will improve localization leading to a decrease in the number of inconclusive findings, and a reduction in the need for repeat or additional testing and imaging, and more accurate treatment plans.”
The decision to add and utilize this technology was a decision made collectively by Doctors hospital leadership, the radiologists, and cardiologists. The system is being used in the areas of cardiology, neurology, and oncology.
“We have been able to provide services to patients that we were unable to in the past, Donna Such, Doctors Hospital team leader of nuclear medicine said, “This is so important to us because patients are able to get the healthcare they need in the community where they live. Everyone deserves to have access to the highest quality diagnostic and therapeutic services available.”
Yun You Li, MD, medical director of cardiac imaging at Doctors Hospital shared that the benefits to patients is among the top benefits.
“There is lower radioactive exposure to patients, the system allows us to do better amyloid scans, infection detection, perfusion scan and has advanced coronary clarification,” Dr. Li said.
This new technology allows for a quicker scan and helps reduce the need for additional imaging tests.
“The StarGuide has the ability to determine myocardial blood flow reserve in patients who do not have a severe epicardial coronary artery stenosis on angiography but have continued angina as a result of microvascular dysfunction, essentially the tiny vessels that are not amenable to stents but can limit blood flow”, John Hatanelas, DO, OhioHealth noninvasive cardiologist said.
Hatanelas also shares that “one of the more noticeable improvements is to use the technology to evaluate patients for endocarditis, an infection of the heart’s inner lining.
“The transition to the new GE HealthCare technology also provided a way for the physicians to team up and learn in tandem with the Nuclear Technologists something very beneficial to patients as our thought processes on image quality and acquisition are better aligned,” Hatanelas said.
The physicians now also have the ability to post-process images themselves if desired which historically was not possible before this technology.
“COVID-19 and the events of 2020 highlighted the need for simple and fast workflows to allow clinicians and staff more time to care for patients, but it also highlighted the importance of listening to and rapidly responding to healthcare system and patient needs,” Jean-Luc Procaccini, president and CEO of molecular imaging and computed tomography, GE HealthCare said, “Today, healthcare systems continue to be asked to maximize efficiencies, without compromising patient care. In response, we designed our StarGuide SPECT/CT system to provide clinicians with the data they need to help them make personalized care decisions and treatment recommendations that are at the heart of precision health.”
Photo Courtesy: GE HealthCare
