SULLIVAN, Mo. – Patients at Mercy Sullivan, 1326 S. Service Road in Sullivan, Missouri, now have access to more state-of-the-art imaging equipment without traveling for care. The new machine, called a SPECT-CT or single-photon emission computed tomography, is a type of nuclear medicine scan where images from two different types of scans, SPECT and computed tomography (CT) scans, are combined, giving precise information to identify potential problems.
“Our physicians and advanced practitioners in Sullivan have long asked for CT imaging equipment to help identify concerns and better care for their patients,” said Eric Eoloff, president of Mercy Washington Community. “With the new SPECT-CT, we are excited to answer their call, making it easy for patients to stay in the same building for their CT scans.”
Most imaging scans show what an internal organ looks like. A SPECT scan shows how an organ is functioning. For this type of imaging, patients receive a nuclear tracer injection that can be detected by a special camera. The cameras rotate over a 360-degree arc around the patient, allowing for images to be reconstructed in three dimensions.
“By combining results from the nuclear medicine SPECT scan and a traditional CT scan we can learn more about how a patient’s body functions and where and how the body structure looks, at one imaging appointment,” said Dr. Suchit Patel, medical director of Mercy Four Rivers/Washington imaging.
To date, about two dozen or more patients have been scanned with the new SPECT-CT.
