Kuakini Medical Center, Ground Floor
The Imaging Services Department provides X-ray services which assist physicians in diagnosing their patient's illness so that appropriate treatment can be ordered.
Skilled radiologists and technologists record X-ray images of bones, blood vessels, tissues and various internal organs so that an accurate diagnosis can be made.
Kuakini Health System's Imaging Services Department has the latest in Digital Imaging technology. Digital Imaging provides more accuracy, is faster than conventional analog imaging and is filmless, making it more environmentally friendly. This results in less patient exposure to X-rays and faster procedures. The images are also Internet ready, which means the images can be broadcast over the Internet for consultation and analysis with other health care professionals. There is also no lost film to replace.
In October 2002, Kuakini acquired the GE Senographe 2000D Full Field Digital Mammography unit, and Kuakini's Imaging Services moved closer towards becoming Hawaii's first all-digital Medical Center Imaging department. The digital mammography unit allows faster, full-field images to be taken at a lower radiation dose. The unit also saves Kuakini money in film and chemical costs while improving image quality.
Kuakini Medical Center’s Imaging Services Department is now offering the revolutionary CADx (Computer-Aided Detection) technology which uses a computer to analyze mammograms. Digital mammography with CADx technology has the ability to "flag" subtle breast cancers that may be missed or overlooked; it enables Kuakini radiologists to have an instantaneous "second look."
Diagnostic Imaging includes such procedures as Digital Radiology/Fluoroscopy, Angiography, Computerized Tomography, MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging), Digital Ultrasound X-ray and Mammography. These procedures are more commonly referred to as X-ray procedures and include chest X-rays, mammograms and CT (Computerized Tomography) scans.
Direct X-ray (Direct Ray) provides the latest in diagnostic X-ray, which requires no film. All of the images are captured and stored on a computer workstation. This results in less X-ray exposure for the patients and faster imaging of the patients. Kuakini was the fourth hospital in the United States to install this technology.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) provides the latest technology for viewing patients utilizing magnetic field/radiofrequency technology to image human anatomy. This non-invasive diagnostic test provides excellent contrast and representation of tissue anatomy such as in studies of the head, spine and musculoskeletal structures.
Computerized Tomography provides cross sectional views of the human anatomy using X-ray. Kuakini Medical Center installed a breakthrough LightSpeed CT scanner from General Electric Medical Systems in October of 2001. The new scanner provides more diagnostic information for doctors at a faster scanning speed and results in improved patient care.
The new GE LightSpeed multi-slice scanner is a state-of-the-art 8-slice model, making it faster and able to produce more detailed images than Kuakini's previous scanner. Kuakini was one of the first in the nation and the first in Hawaii to use the 8 detector model.
As a result of the new technology, less patients will have to undergo invasive procedures like colonoscopy, the physical examination of the colon with a colonoscope. The new CT's virtual colonography software will enable the viewing of a three-dimensional virtual flyby within the patients' colon with just the scanned images from the CT. Patients will also be able to undergo calcium scoring, a screening procedure that assists doctors in determining the amount of calcium or plaque in a patient's heart.
The new CT scanner brings together many of Kuakini's initiatives such as research, telemedicine and digital imaging.
Ultrasound uses high frequency sound waves to produce moving images of the human body. It is also used to analyze blood flow. Kuakini has the latest in Digital Ultrasound technology including a high definition, color Doppler, an ultrasound system that can provide 3-dimensional images and a digital ultrasound system that provides a special external probe for surgical applications.
Special procedures are performed in Kuakini's state-of-the-art Digital Angiography suite including cerebral angiograms, aortagrams and femoral run-offs.
The Nuclear Medicine Department provides diagnostic tests for patients in a noninvasive manner by utilizing radioactive materials with highly specialized scanners. Nuclear medicine scans give physiologic information, which complement the anatomic information provided by X-rays and other diagnostic equipment. The latest high-tech equipment, including the latest MCD (Molecular Coincidence Detection) Testing, SPECT (Single Photon Emission Computerized Tomography), thalium stress tests and a bone densitometer are available.
In 2005 Kuakini installed a Philips SKYlight camera in its Nuclear Medicine Department. The camera is the world’s first gantry-free gamma camera.
The Imaging Services Department offers services to inpatients and outpatients. The staff is comprised of qualified and licensed technologists, radiologists and nuclear medicine specialists.
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