Get a Sharper image
Submitted photo Weston County Health Services’ new X-ray technology brings imaging quality to a level that is like a new smartphone instead of a disposable camera’s image quality, according to radiology manager Keisha Brueggeman.
Radiology manager says image quality with new technology brings ‘huge improvements’
Mary Stroka
NLJ Reporter
Weston County Health Services’ radiology team has seen “huge improvements” in image quality through technology it began using six weeks ago, radiology manager Keisha Brueggeman told the News Letter Journal on Sept. 4.
Brueggeman said that her team wanted to offer a wider range of services, including scoliosis exams. They wanted to have better equipment for orthopedic and podiatry views and more functionality of the room for imaging.
“We were very excited to begin this project due to the many technological advancements in X-ray imaging equipment,” she said.
She compared the improvement in image quality to the difference between taking a photo with a disposable camera and taking it with a new smartphone’s camera.
“The image quality is so much better, which ultimately is better for our patients,” she said.
The former room had been installed as cassette radiography in 2014 and retrofitted to digital radiography in 2018, according to Brueggeman.
“DR is the preferred standard in our field as it drastically reduces radiation dose for our patients, provides higher quality images and reduces patient exam times,” she said.
The hospital’s former equipment was reaching its “end of life” and was no longer able to be serviced because parts were obsolete, she explained. As those parts aged, they became more difficult to replace.
“As medical imaging plays such a crucial role in diagnosing patients and to stay ahead of any negative impact that not having functioning equipment would have on our community, we chose to move forward with the project,” she said.
The hospital board received quotes from three vendors and selected the Phillips DigitalDiagnost C90, she said. WCHS spent $272,000 from its capital budget on the equipment, add-on features the team requested to enhance workflow and usability, and related training, according to Brueggeman. Radiologic technologists spent more time with the applications specialist to make sure the team could use the machine to its best potential, make any necessary changes easily and work out any software bugs.
Brueggeman said she feels confident in the decision to purchase the equipment because of the experience other hospitals in the region have had with it. According to Brueggeman, because the community is connected with Monument Health, Weston County Health Services has the same radiologists and other sites in the network have installed and are working to install the same machine.
“Knowing that our radiologists, who are the ones that read exams that we perform are happy with the image quality and work being done with this equipment is what gave me confidence,” she said.
While researching to ensure that the technology would help the hospital offer patients optimal health care, Brueggeman went on a site visit to see the machine, and spent many hours with the team at Phillips learning about the machine and its capabilities.
“The Radiology team is incredibly thankful that WCHS was able to invest in our community in such a great way,” she said.
In fiscal 2024, a total of 2,523 patients received radiology services, according to a document the NLJ received from hospital board treasurer Kari Drost.