Meet the “Gemini TF Big Bore,” a new $2.3 million PET/CT scanner that’s up and running at Phelps County Regional Medical Center in Rolla.
Part of an overall $15 million imaging upgrade at the hospital, the “Big Bore” — so named for the unusually large size of the donut hole and its 500-pound capacity — holds great promise in the early detection of small cancers.
Director of Radiation Oncology Jason Sharp said the CT portion of the scanner was placed in service Jan. 29, and the PET portion of the scanner will be ready for patients next week.
“This is exciting,” Sharp said. “People in the community, in St. Louis and Springfield, they just cannot believe that Rolla has this.”
With imaging capabilities that can detect millimeter-sized cancers, or cancer cells that are just beginning to spread, Sharp said the four-dimensional scans are crisper and clearer than scans taken by earlier-model CT and PET scanners.
With a CT unit that produces 16-slice, four-dimensional pictures from horizontal, vertical and diagonal angles, the four-dimensional scans offer a huge benefit.
“This equipment is so sophisticated, we’ll be able to do more things than we’ve ever been able to do in this facility. We’ll be able to look for Alzheimers and dementia. In the future, we’ll be able to do heart scans. It has the capability to do more and more as we grow.”
The Big Bore also is considered a backup for the two other CT scanners at the hospital. Located in the old Radiation Treatment room, it took slightly more than two weeks to install the combination unit, which was assembled on site.
The manufacturer of the scanner, Phillips, also is excited by its installation at PCRMC, said Sharp, and Phillips considers the Big Bore at PCRMC as its “show site” in the company’s marketing efforts.
