DECATUR, Ala. — In case you haven't heard, Decatur Morgan Hospital has new imaging equipment. It's the first Cardiac PET CT in the state of Alabama. Currently, it's being used to identify issues with the heart. In the near future, the goal is that it will be used for oncology and neurology PET CT as well.
Decatur Morgan Hospital's Vice President of Operations Jason Cunningham said this equipment will identify heart issues faster and more accurately with the imaging that it provides. "Yeah. It's great to have this equipment here at Decatur Morgan, for the city of Decatur and Morgan County. It's the first Cardiac PET CT in the state of Alabama. It will 100% improve the patient care that's given. And another benefit is they're not having to travel to a large metropolitan area to receive this care like they usually do Nashville, Birmingham. Now, they can stay here in northern Alabama and receive that care close to home."
So which patients will benefit from this equipment? "Currently it's doing Cardiac PET CT, but in the near future we'll be doing oncology pet as well and hopefully in the future Neurology PET CT or patients with Alzheimer's and other neurological conditions. It really identifies issues with the heart. So you have a traditional stress test. this imaging really cuts down the time from maybe an hour, hour and a half to maybe 20 minutes to get the exact same imaging, if not even improved."
Decatur Morgan Hospital Director of Radiology Brandon Fisher agrees. "It's basically a quicker version of the nuclear or cardiac stress test where you get on a treadmill and walk the nuclear stress test where you walk. A lot of times it takes about 3 hours. This one takes about 30 minutes."
So how did Decatur Morgan Hospital become the first in the state to offer this equipment? "I think it split the size of our hospital and the community involvement that has demonstrated on a daily basis, that we have the patient availability to really come and receive this type of testing."