New CT scanner unveiled at WVU Medicine Princeton Community Hospital

Tara Wyatt, Bluefield Daily Telegraph, W.Va.
·2 min read

Mar. 26—By TARA WYATT

Bluefield Daily Telegraph

PRINCETON — A new and affordable CT scanner is now available for coronary CTA examination to those wanting reassurance with their cardiac health at the WVU Medicine Princeton Community Hospital.

The hospital is the only one in West Virginia and one of only 40 hospitals in the country to receive the advanced medical machine, Karen Bowling, the hospital's president and CEO, said Monday.

Between the equipment and renovations, it cost $2 million.

"We have to invest," Bowling said. "If you want to take care of your patients, you have to buy it, whether it is a CT scan or other piece of equipment. Health care equipment is expensive, but you figure it out, you find ways to do it."

Although it is a modern CT scanner, its advanced abilities make it unique compared to other scanners around the country, Bowling said.

The machine shows faster results with greater accuracy and image details involving the coronary anatomy in a patient without invasive screenings.

Doctors will be able to tell if a person is burdened to disease or not more clearly, according to Bowling.

"This test is essentially equivalent to a non-invasive cardiac cavitation," Cardiologist Dr. Stephan Ward said. "This test is ideal for those who don't have all the ideal high risk features that make us do a basic invasive cardiac cavitation, but it gives us way more information than a stress test."

The scanner also provides less risks regarding safety and cost for patients, Ward said.

For an invasive cardiac catheterization, Ward said it would normally cost close to $10,000.

"However, the cost of this test is probably a third to a quarter of the cost. It depends on insurance and so forth." Ward said.

The test is less physical, with officials only having to inject dye through a normal IV and put the patient in the tube.

While there are many ways to qualify for a screening, the hospital doctors encourage citizens to go to a physician first to see if a screening is necessary as testing will be restrictive and is not meant for a self-referral without symptoms, Ward said.

Those who qualify for a screening include family members of heart problems, those at risk to pre-diabetes, or those who want clarification on test results in stress test, according to Ward.

— Contact Tara Wyatt at twyatt@bdtonline.com