Hospital goes hi-tech

By Alex Kayle for Siemens
Johannesburg, 18 Jun 2009

The Universitas Hospital based in Bloemfontein has become the first South African public/government institution to implement a Siemens Symbia single photon (Gamma-ray) detecting camera system integrated with an X-ray system.

The Siemens Symbia T system, an example of Hybrid Imaging Spect CT systems, is actually two systems fused together, namely Spect (single photon emission computed tomography) and CT (computed tomography).

Spect looks at the body's physiology and how the body functions while CT looks at the anatomy - how a person looks from the inside. According to Siemens, 90% of oncology (cancer treatment) patients will leave the nuclear medicine department with a definitive diagnosis after taking the scan.

Revolutionary tech

The technology aims to assist doctors to make more accurate diagnoses, plan treatment more effectively, and improve overall patient care. The university started piloting the technology in August.

Professor Anton Otto, head of Nuclear Medicine at Universitas Hospital, says: “This integrated system represents some of the most advanced technology in this scientific field today. The Symbia system will relieve the workload on our existing systems and significantly increase service delivery.”

According to Otto, the correct diagnosis can be made faster when compared to conventional technology and it shortens the time the patient needs to lie under the camera. It is used to scan for heart disease, bones, and for the detection of malignant disease.

Isabel Schoeman, business development manager for Siemens Healthcare SA, Molecular Imaging, says the system can produce three different types of images by doing one procedure on a patient.

Schoeman says the first Siemens Spect CT was unveiled in SA in January 2008 at the Panorama Medical Centre in Cape Town. Symbia T was introduced at the Universitas Hospital Bloemfontein in August the same year.

“We [Siemens] will revolutionise molecular imaging of biological processes, leading the change towards personalised medicine in the Southern Africa sector. This will improve the total patient management in the region and also lead the change towards personalised medicine in the region in molecular imaging,” says Schoeman.