Scanning the future - Radiology Improvements at the Bath RUH

Major investment and improvement work is underway at the Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust that will make the RUH's Radiology Department among the most modern and best-equipped in the South West.

In a five-year, £7.5m project, two of the unit's existing MRI scanners are being refurbished and upgraded. One CT scanner has already been replaced, and next month (September) building work starts on an extension to house two suites for new state of the art CT and MRI machines.

There will also be larger and better-equipped waiting facilities for outpatients and private waiting areas for inpatients.

Craig Forster, RUH Head of Radiology said: "This is a major investment by the Trust to continue to provide the best equipment and facilities for our patients and to meet the increasing demand for radiology services. Some of our existing scanners were ten years old and were coming to the end of their working life, so it was decided to make the commitment to upgrade and improve them. With our new PETCT scanner that was installed in 2016, it will confirm the RUH as a centre of excellence and care in radiology."

The new CT scanners are the first of their type to be installed in an NHS hospital in the UK. A new MRI scanner that replaces the hospital's current mobile machine is also the very latest model that offers improved scanning technology.

Cathi Sutherland, Advanced Practice Radiographer CT, said: "This is great news for our patients and staff. By spring or summer next year we will have bigger and better facilities, with five new or upgraded CT and MRI scanners. We'll be able to scan more people in more comfortable surroundings, providing the very latest technology and services that our patients deserve."

ENDS

Notes to Editor:

CT scans can produce detailed images of many structures inside the body, including the internal organs, blood vessels and bones. They can be used to:

• diagnose conditions – including damage to bones, injuries to internal organs,
  problems with blood flow, strokes and cancer
• guide further tests or treatments – for example, CT scans can help to
  determine the location, size and shape of a tumour before having
  radiotherapy, or to allow a doctor to take a needle biopsy (where a small
  tissue sample is removed using a needle) or drain an abscess
• monitor conditions – including checking the size of tumours during and after
  cancer treatment

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a type of scan that uses strong magnetic fields and radio waves to produce detailed images of the inside of the body.

An MRI scanner is a large tube that contains powerful magnets. You lie inside the tube during the scan.

An MRI scan can be used to examine almost any part of the body, including the:

• brain and spinal cord
• bones and joints
• breasts
• heart and blood vessels
• internal organs, such as the liver, womb or prostate gland

The results of an MRI scan can be used to help diagnose conditions, plan treatments and assess how effective previous treatment has been.

- The RUH Radiology Department undertakes a full range of diagnostic imaging, including PET-CT. The department operates on seven separate sites across the locality undertaking around 293,615 patient examinations per year.

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