Why Salt Spring Needs a New Ultrasound Machine
By Eric Jacobsen, Executive Director, Lady Minto Hospital Foundation
Why ultrasound matters so much here
Ultrasound is typically the first imaging tool a clinician reaches for. Unlike X-ray, it can image soft tissue, blood flow, and organs. It is used to evaluate injuries, look for internal bleeding, help detect or investigate cancer, detect blood clots, assess fetal development, look at liver disease, and evaluate a wide range of internal conditions. It is also one of the safest forms of imaging available, using sound waves instead of ionizing radiation.
In a rural setting, where we don’t have CT or MRI, when a patient needs internal imaging, ultrasound is our option for viewing soft tissue, and it needs to be the best we can make it.
What the new machine adds
Better probes mean better images. The new system includes elastography, which measures tissue stiffness and gives clinicians additional data for detecting conditions like liver fibrosis earlier. That kind of finding can change a patient’s care pathway.
The workflow tools let the sonographer focus on the patient rather than the machine. That matters most during sensitive exams, when the technician’s attention should be on the person on the table, not on managing parameters.
A remote collaboration feature also allows a specialist to view a scan in real time from off-island. In a difficult case, or at a time when we might have a new sonographer on duty, that connection could spare a patient a trip to Victoria. Patrick, our present sonographer, is seasoned and excellent by all accounts, but this feature adds important support and flexibility for the future.
Matt Pucsek, Medical Imaging Operations Manager for Lady Minto and three other Island Health sites, put it plainly:
“Replacing the current ultrasound machine at Lady Minto enables patients of the Southern Gulf Islands to access high-quality and high-resolution ultrasound imaging. This can mean more confident scanning by a sonographer and more confident interpretation by a radiologist. The modern workflow features allow the sonographer to focus more on the patient in the room and less on the ultrasound machine.”
Where things stand
The ultrasound machine is the focus of our annual equipment drive and 35th annual golf tournament. The cost is $100,000, and we’re 60% of the way to our goal. We have confirmed most of our major sponsors for the golf tournament, and now we need to get the last 40% there.
Ultrasound is the front line in our on-island diagnostics. Better imaging means clinicians can see more clearly, decide with more confidence, and keep more patients here for the care they need.
If that matters to you, we’d be grateful for your support.
Donate at ladymintofoundation.com or contact us at contact@ladymintofoundation.com.
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