Radiology Department Adds New Equipment, Service, and Technologists
Posted on Monday, February 5th, 2024
Marnetta Dorsey, Albert Bearden, and Blake Scott show off
the new x-ray equipment in the Radiology Department.
Other technologists serving patients are Curtis Hembree and
Jami Murray.
The radiology department at Mercy Health Love County in Marietta is bustling with new equipment, a new service, and new people.
Last December, the old x-ray equipment was taken out and replaced with a brand new Del Medical OTC 18 table, wall stand, and imaging device. The device is mounted to an overhead crane and moves on vertical and horizontal tracks to swing into the best position for the x-ray exam.
“There are not as many manual steps,” said Blake Scott, a registered Radiologic Technologist and director of radiology, as he demonstrated how easily the x-ray tube tilts and turns at a touch. After that, like an automatic camera, the system automatically focuses and centers on an image receptor.
An x-ray technologist then sends a stream of photons from the x-ray tube through the body part being examined. The energy casts an image of the bone or organ onto a receptor film located in a cassette mounted to the bottom of the table.
Bones can clearly be seen on x-rays so doctors rely on them to look for bone fractures or breaks. They also look at x-rays of various organs, such as lungs, heart, and intestines if wanting help in diagnosing disease. X-rays are painless and the patient wears street clothes or a hospital gown for the procedure.
Another type of imaging, ultrasound, is taking on added emphasis. Scott said a contractual arrangement with a Norman ultrasound group has been made among the Marietta, Healdton, and Tishomingo hospitals.
In Marietta, BB Imaging brings their equipment and technologists to the hospital from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Wednesday. They offer a number of ultrasound screenings or tests, including: abdominal aorta, abdomen, adult echocardiogram, arterial upper or lower, carotid, renal artery, right upper quadrant (RUQ), scrotal, soft tissue, vascular, and venous upper or lower.
Like an x-ray, ultrasound is non-invasive and painless. A probe, or transducer, scans the area. It produces sound waves to view inside the body. The movement of the body’s internal organs as well as blood flowing through blood vessels can be observed and recorded to an image file.
Patients of any provider may schedule x-ray or ultrasound tests at Mercy Health Love County.
Scott, with 10 years, and Marnetta Dorsey, with 24 years, are the longest-serving members of the radiology department. Two hospital coworkers are in the process of transferring into the department.
They are Albert Bearden, with 24 years in health care, the last 17 as a CNA at Mercy Health Love County, and Curtis Hembree, who will complete studies for the x-ray technologist's credential in May. Hembree has 13 years of health care experience, the past eight at Mercy Health Love County where he was first a CNA and then manager of central supply.
Scott said a traveling technologist Jami Murray, will also be helping cover shifts within the department. The department operates around the clock.