Upgraded CT scanner cuts waiting list

The CT scanner at St Luke's Hospital's Radiology Department has been upgraded and now offers faster, better quality results, therefore allowing for more scans to be made.

Whereas before a patient spent about 20 minutes in the scanner, thanks to the upgrade a scan would now only take a minute or two, Health Minister Louis Deguara said during the inauguration of the upgraded facility.

This improvement, which cost about $500,000, was wholly financed by a company which maintains the equipment.

Before the upgrade was made one had to wait between two and four months for a CT scan appointment as about 900 patients a month made use of it.

The CT room had changed to a CT unit which now includes a changing room, a preparation room and a viewing room with an "advantage workstation" that connects the unit to other workstations in the hospital through a network.