Montfort Hospital sets sights on advanced heart scanner
$2.5M machine would be first of its kind in region
Ottawa's Montfort Hospital wants to become the first health facility in the region to buy an advanced scanner to diagnose heart-related diseases.
The hospital already has a machine for CT scans, but the model it hopes to acquire by the end of the year is more advanced.
According to Dr. André Olivier, a radiologist and chief of Montfort's Department of Diagnostic Imaging, the new equipment will allow for faster and less-invasive testing than traditional methods such as stress tests.
''There's also angiography, where we insert a catheter inside blood vessels,'' he said. ''It's not only a matter of pain, but also of potential complications.''
Oliver said the new scanner will also act as a backup if there is a problem with the current unit, since it can perform all of the duties of a normal scanner.
The Montfort Hospital Foundation is hoping to raise $2.5 million to buy the machine.