PATIENTS at Musgrove Park Hospital are now benefiting from a new, more modern and safer X-ray-machine thanks to a donation of £640,000.
The complex machine, which is in Musgrove’s interventional radiology (IR) suite, has been bought by the hospital’s League of Friends and its fundraisers, who made the donation.
Peter Renshaw, chairman, said it was the largest amount the Friends have ever provided for a single development in their history of almost 60 years, and was possible thanks to a number of legacies and donations.
“As custodians of money donated to the League of Friends, we are always keen to support requests from departments across the hospital, which benefit the maximum number of patients and keep Musgrove Park Hospital at the leading edge of patient care,” he said.
Interventional radiology is a medical speciality that provides highly specialised, minimally invasive treatments for a range of chronic conditions, including peripheral vascular disease and cancer.
It is often described as pinhole surgery and offers safer alternatives to traditional surgery.
The new machine – an Artis Q – has an X-ray tube at the cutting edge of technology that will mean patients undergoing procedures are exposed to almost two-thirds less radiation than previously.
Its advanced 3D imaging software, means radiographers will be able to capture much clearer and higher contrast images of patients. It saves clinicians’ time, enabling more patients to be treated every day.