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Iowa Health – Des Moines has invested in some cutting-edge imaging technology in recent months, giving physicians an even keener eye for diagnosing patients, say officials.

In late December, Iowa Lutheran Hospital became one of the first hospitals in the country to install an advanced version of a 64-slice computed tomography (CT) scanner. Approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in August, the device made by General Electric Co. enables technicians to reduce patients’ exposure to radiation by 50 percent compared with conventional CT scanners.

“It’s the dose reduction on the equipment that is the biggest selling point,” said Yvonne Grant, radiology manager for Iowa Health – Des Moines. “We are currently scanning at 30 percent dose reduction on our patients and getting beautiful image quality.” The new scanner, which improves image quality by 33 percent, could become a new tool to detect blocked arteries in the heart.

The CT scanner is one of three devices in which Iowa Health has invested more than $5.6 million to bring the latest in diagnostic technology to Central Iowa.

Earlier this year, Iowa Methodist Medical Center became the first non-research hospital in the country to install a device known as the Artis zeego, a scanning system with a robotic positioning arm. The zeego, which uses the same precision robotics developed for automotive manufacturers, provides real-time images for doctors to use when inserting needles, stents or other medical devices. Iowa Methodist’s first-in-the-nation status with the device is due to the involvement of Dr. David Lacey, a Methodist radiologist who is working closely with the manufacturer, Siemens Medical Solutions, to test and refine it.

Also, Methodist last month began operating a new 3-tesla magnetic resonance imaging scanner (MRI), which is twice as powerful as the 1.5-tesla MRI machines that Iowa Health otherwise operates. The new device is particularly suited for assessing brain and spinal conditions with a high level of accuracy.

Costly equipment

The devices that provide key diagnostic images for doctors also make up a significant portion of a hospital’s capital costs, said Tom Mulrooney, Iowa Health’s director of radiology.

“We want to make sure the investments we’re making will ultimately make a difference for our patients, and I think (each of these devices) will make a difference.”

Mulrooney said hospitals are beginning to see some advantage in having more than one manufacturer selling similar medical imaging technologies, whereas in the past just one vendor may have offered a particular technology. “So where the potential savings comes in is in our ability to work with a number of vendors to get the best price,” he said.

Iowa Health is currently finalizing its equipment purchase decisions for West Hospital under construction in West Des Moines, which will have its own radiology department. As a community hospital, West Hospital will refer more serious cases to Lutheran or Methodist if they require a higher level of diagnostic services such as the 3-tesla MRI, Mulrooney said.

Cindy Neller, clinical director of imaging services for Mercy Medical Center, said Mercy has both a 64-slice CT scanner and a 3-tesla MRI that are each less than 2 years old. It also operates two vascular angiography units similar to the zeego, she said.

“I think we’re competitive (with Iowa Health) now, and with the West Lakes hospital (now under construction) I think we will be very competitive,” Neller said. “It is our intent at West Lakes to get state-of-the-art equipment.”

Big step up

Matt Helgeson, radiology manager for Lutheran and Methodist hospitals, said the new 3-tesla MRI will be used to assess a variety of cases, among them brain and spinal cord injuries, as well as to diagnose strokes and cancer. “In our trauma cases, we can shorten the time down and still get a good-quality image,” he said. Currently, the 3-tesla MRI is being scheduled on a next-day basis, compared with a typical one-week wait for the other four MRIs that Iowa Health operates.

The 3-tesla machine is “really a big step up,” Mulrooney said. “That little bit of extra clarity can help diagnose conditions or diseases that would be difficult for other technologies to detect.”

The new 64-slice CT scanner, which will be used for any patient condition requiring a CT scan, has been shown in research to have potential for assessing the condition of arteries in the heart.

“It may become a screening tool prior to getting a diagnostic catheterization,” Mulrooney said. “I think it could very quickly become an expectation. We’re very early on in the process (of use of CT for heart patients). We’re glad to be in a position to be a part of it.”