The North Shore-LIJ Health Care System will be purchasing 15 GE Low-Dose CT Scanners at a cost of nearly $12 million for installation in 10 of its facilities in the New York metro area over the next year in what hospital officials will be an important step forward in its diognostic sytems.
The new scanners significantly reduce the amount of radiation emitted during CT scans, according to North Shore- LIJ President and CEO Michael Dowling, who said the low-dose technology would be “resolving” safety concerns about radiation levels from X-rays.
“This is part of an initiative we’ve been involved in for a number of years. This is a major move forward for us,” Dowling said at a press conference with GE executives at the North Shore-LIJ Center for Advanced Medicine in Lake Success last Thursday.
Dowling said installation of the new CT scanners would put the North Shore-LIJ system “on the cutting edge of CT technology.” He said the higher resolution of images produced by the GE scanners would also enhance doctors ability to make diagnoses.
“It helps clinicians determine the course of treatment. It saves lives,” Dowlilng said.
He said the deal for the CT scanners is the result of a long partnership between North Shore-LIJ and GE.
“It’s a fantastic technology and a rich technology,” said GE Chairman and CEO Jeffrey Immelt, “It’s an important innovation for long-term patient outcomes.”
Immelt said GE had invested $800 million in the development of the low-dose CT technology over the past decade. He said GE’s objective is to reduce the dose of radiation patients are exposed to during CT scans by 50 percent over the next three years.
GE plans to put a team of analysts in the field to consult with hospitals in assessing their existing CT technologies to suggest changes.
“We will have low-dose architects that we will; offer hospitals for free,” Immelt said.
The purchase of the new scanners is part of a three-year $50 million investment North Shore-LIJ is making to replace or update all of its conventional diagnostic imaging systems with scanners that emit lower radiation level and produce high-quality diagnostic images.
North Shore-LIJ spent $16 million last year for new units or new software, including new or improved CT scanners, MRIs, 3D ultrasound, bone scanners and digital mammography machines, according to North Shore-LIJ spokesman Terry Lynam.
Steve Gray, vice president and general manager for GE Healthcare Computed Tomography, called the VEO imaging technology incorporated in the GE’s new CT scanners “a huge improvement” in safety and confidence for patients.
“This is about combining the best practices with LIJ and the low-dose technology,” Gray said, citing GE’s new DoseWatch software, which measures radiation emissions from each CT scan.
Dr. John Pellerito, CT imaging chief and associate chairman of North Shore-LIJ Radiology, said introduction of the new scanners includes a training program for doctors and nurses on the machines.
“The good news is it just got safer for our patients and our children,” Pellerito said.
Pellerito said the enhanced imaging with the new machines will decrease the need for repeating CT scans in some cases.
“We can get improved quality with less [radiation] dose. You will see smaller tumors than you did before,” Pellerito said.
Dowling said the efficiency of the new GE machines would reduce costs incurred by high-quality imaging procedures.
“If you can do it right the first time, it prevents doing it over and over again,” he said.
In addition to the Center for Advanced Medicine in Lake Success, the new CT scanners are scheduled to be installed in Long Island Jewish Medical Center and Cohen Children’s Medical Center in New Hyde Park, North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, Plainview Hospital, Staten Island University Hospital and Southside Hospital in Bayshore.
