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With long experience in bone densitometry using both nuclear medicine and DXA, Senior Radiographer Gary Wright's views are worth noting: "I became interested in bone densitometry during nuclear medicine studies in 1999 at the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital. When this modality was superseded by DXA, I worked with a very reliable QDR 4500 based system at the West Norwich Hospital.
 In February 2004 the Radiology Directorate of James Paget Hospital, began looking into DXA bone densitometry and I spent some time with the bone densitometry team at Norwich University Hospital with the same QDR 4500 I had seen in 1999, which was still reliable and had performed well with no breakdowns.
During 2004, the waiting time for bone densitometry scanning at the James Paget Hospital had increased to seventeen months and understandably patients and clinicians were becoming annoyed with the limited CT densitometry-based service. We looked at the Hologic Discovery C bone densitometer during the 2004 UKRC in Manchester and were impressed with its construction quality. Negotiations to acquire one for James Paget were finalised last November and it was delivered just before Christmas. The Discovery is well constructed and has a good reliability record; users of a similar system located near to us reported satisfaction with the Vertec service. As far as our team is concerned, we are very happy with the helpful Vertec team who will always respond to any technical queries or problems we have."
Pictured recently during applications training at the James Paget Hospital are (from left): Hospital Senior Radiographers Gary Wright and Isabel Kemp and Vertec trainer Anne Stapleton who look on while Radiographer Margaret Hawkes stands in for the patient. |
