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Your package has arrived: $2.7M PET-CT scanner delivered to RVH

'RVH has always focused on putting the best tools in the hands of the most skilled professionals,' says Barrie hospital's president and CEO
BarrieToday Staff
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Heather Gillis, left, RVH's director of operations for medical imaging, pathology and laboratory medicine and David Wilson, RVH manager of imaging services, stand next to components of RVH’s new PET-CT scanner. Wilson, who operated the first PET-CT in Ontario earlier in his career and Gillis have been passionate about access to PET-CT services since the mid-1990s when they submitted a position paper to the Ministry of Health on ‘What is a PET’.Contributed

A new tool to help diagnose and treat patients arrived at Barrie’s Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre (RVH) on Friday.

Trucks carrying the first PET-CT scanner in the region arrived this morning at RVH, its final stop on a long trek from Germany.

“A PET-CT is a dual imaging system that combines precise diagnostic functionality (the PET) with the anatomical images of organs (the CT scan),” said Heather Gillis, RVH director of operations for medical imaging, pathology and laboratory medicine. “The PET-CT will be most often used to diagnose and monitor patients with cancer.”

She said it’s good news for the more than 600 patients who must travel outside Simcoe-Muskoka each year to access this diagnostic service, away from their family and friends, at a time when they are most anxious and afraid.

The PET-CT is expected to be up and running by the fall, with more than 1,000 scans anticipated to be performed in the first year it’s in operation.

The PET-CT arrived at RVH in several pieces, which will be placed in a temporary storage area in RVH’s main lobby, adjacent to the Imaging Department, until mid-summer while its permanent home is being constructed.

This renovation is funded by a $1-million investment from the Ontario government to renovate an already designated space within RVH to house the new PET-CT scanner. Ontario Health (Cancer Care Ontario) is funding the $2.7-million cost of the PET-CT.

Having the PET-CT is also made possible by a $500,000 donation from RVH donor, Barrie Welding and Machine, as well as support from Jane and Dr. Paul Voorheis, a longtime RVH radiologist, former imaging medical director, and interim chief of staff.

“RVH has always focused on putting the best tools in the hands of the most skilled professionals,” said Gail Hunt, RVH president and CEO. “(Friday) we took another significant step forward to ensure Simcoe-Muskoka residents can more easily access the latest technology, so they can be diagnosed and treated faster, and ultimately on the road to recovery sooner.”