First PET/CT scanner for interior of British Columbia
September 9, 2020
KELOWNA, BC – People living in the interior of British Columbia will now have easier access to specialized cancer care services with a new, state-of-the-art PET/CT scanner suite at BC Cancer – Kelowna. “The new PET/CT scanner in Kelowna will be a game changer for patients in our region. It will support better care and shorter waits for people right here in the Interior by providing faster diagnostics, closer to home,” said Susan Brown (pictured), president and chief executive officer, Interior Health.
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BRAMPTON, Ont. – Dynacare has validated a new collection method for testing to detect the presence of the virus that causes COVID-19, using saliva obtained from a patient’s mouth. This method offers an easy, safe and effective alternative to the more commonly used nasopharyngeal swab (NPS) method, in which the sample is collected from patients through their nasal passage.
TORONTO – Addressing the need for greater insights into patient disease processes such as stroke, cardiovascular disease, or most recently COVID-19, Bialogics Analytics Inc. (Bialogics) announced the launch of a new deep learning-based natural language processing (NLP) engine that seamlessly integrates into radiology and cardiology PACS workflows.
LONDON, Ont. – In service of the people across southwestern Ontario, the Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (PaLM) team at London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) has reached a critical milestone in testing volumes for COVID-19. The hospital-based laboratory first began processing COVID-19 test swabs in mid-March with the goal of building from an initial 50 tests per day volume to 3,000 tests per day. The PaLM team has now surpassed that initial milestone as they continue to expand testing capacity.
EDMONTON – To prepare for the return of children to the classrooms, Alberta Health Services is escalating its COVID-19 testing capacity. That includes the use of a new testing technique where samples from multiple Albertans are combined and processed at the same time.
RICHMOND HILL, Ont. – Mackenzie Health, in partnership with healthcare technology leader Philips, became one of the first hospitals in Canada recently to implement a new digital pathology platform designed to help diagnose patients quicker and ultimately improve care. With the implementation of Philips’ IntelliSite pathology platform, Mackenzie Health aims to enhance lab performance, increase access to specialists and improve diagnosis time.
KITCHENER, Ont. – In Waterloo Region’s largest lab, the first of two new processing instruments has arrived and will help Grand River Hospital (GRH) greatly increase the number of COVID swabs it processes each day. With the capacity for each machine to test 94 swabs every 2.5 to 3 hours, it means GRH will be able to test up to 1,500 COVID swabs per day for faster results.
EDMONTON – Alberta is providing $15 million to upgrade laboratory equipment in Edmonton and the northern part of the province. New centrifuges, microscopes, analyzers and other pieces of essential equipment will help ensure people living in and around Edmonton and across northern Alberta continue to have access to state-of-the-art diagnostic and treatment services.
SURREY, BC – A new instument at Surrey Memorial Hospital’s lab means a big boost for B.C.’s COVID-19 test capacity. The Roche Cobas 6800 analyzer system can do over 1,000 tests daily, meaning B.C. now has capacity for more than 7,700 COVID-19 tests each day and with faster results.
OTTAWA – COVID-19 has emerged as the largest health crisis of our time. To date, millions of individuals have been affected, causing hundreds of thousands of fatalities in nearly 200 countries around the world.