UGMC unveils new imaging machine
The University of Ghana Medical Centre (UGMC) has successfully performed a human scan using a Nanox Arc Xray Tomography Scan machine, making it the second hospital in Africa to use that technology.
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The Nanox Arc, manufactured by an Israeli company, is capable of producing high-quality medical images with unprecedented speed and accuracy at a cheaper cost than the regular CT scan.
It is able to capture minute issues in parts of the body better than regular Xrays.
The hospital used the technology on a patient-volunteer, Abraham Asare Bediako, at a ceremony in Accra on Wednesday to demonstrate its efficiency.
the machine was installed at the hospital last year, it was only put to use after the Food and Drugs Authority had approved it.
It would now be available for use by patients from next week, the hospital management said.
Nanox Arc machine
A radiology specialist at the UGMC, Dr Daniel Amankrah, described the new machine as a game-changer.
"When you do regular X-ray, the information from it is not sufficient enough.
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So, currently, doctors may require you to do a CT scan to see what is actually going on in the human body.
However, CT scan is more expensive and exposes the patient to more radiation.
“The Nanox Arc works like the Xray.
However, unlike that, it gives you multiple images which helps you to see in detail what is happening in the human body.
“You also pay less and get less radiation compared to the CT scan.
So it's like an advanced version of the regular Xray," he further explained.
Dr Amankrah said the technology also had the ability to scan all parts of the body that contained bones such as the head, neck, chest, thigh and the legs, medically referred to as the musculoskeletal system of the human body.
Radiation
The Chief Executive Officer of Forte Medical Limited, Nana Bebaako Addo, the company that collaborated with UGMC to have the technology brought to the facility, also said that the Nanox Arc had low dose of radiation which was perfect for patients.
He said outside Ghana and for that matter sub-Saharan Africa, the technology had been used in the US, Israel and Morocco.
The Training Manager of Nanox, Nikolaos Natsinas, said imaging results from the technology was better because it used the 2D system.
The CEO of UGMC, Dr Kwame Anim-Boamah, added that the technology had an AI component that can report on imagings.
"It is going to make the work of radiographers and radiologists very easy because it's a step ahead of the usual Xray," he added.