The ‘BrightSpeed’ Provides Advanced Diagnostic Capabilities in a Patient-Friendly Environment

TELLURIDE – The Telluride Medical Center acquired a new, advanced Computed Tomography (CT) Scanner from GE Healthcare, thanks to a gift of $225,000 from The Telluride Foundation’s Telluride Medical Capital Fund. Called the BrightSpeed, this CT scanner offers the latest in “multi-slice” (16 slice) CT technology along with clinical applications that will allow attending physicians to quickly and accurately perform multiple diagnostic exams. The scanner, installed last month, can perform multiple exams on multiple patients consecutively, without overheating and delaying patient care. New exams allowed by the 16 slice scanners include: imaging of pulmonary vessels to look for embolism and evaluation of arteries for aneurysms and dissections.

“On behalf of the generous contributors to the Telluride Medical Capital Fund, we are pleased to donate $225,000 towards the new 16 slice CT scan device at the Telluride Medical Center,” said C. Michael Armstrong, chairman of the TMCF. “This final TMCF capital contribution brings our total contributions to the Telluride Medical Center to over $900,000. We are proud to have partnered with the Telluride Hospital District Board in serving the Telluride Community.”

With the exceptional image quality, productivity and reliability found in GE’s CT products, Telluride Medical Center physicians are now able to expand the high quality care and services provided by TMC.

“Our acquisition of the BrightSpeed raises the level of care that our physicians can provide for a multitude of injuries or illnesses without the need to transfer patients to a hospital,” said Paul Koelliker, Emergency Room physician. “This patient-friendly system, with its speed of producing accurate exams, will help our physicians provide the information referring physicians need to plan a course of treatment. With the BrightSpeed, Telluride Medical Center offers advanced technology that can assist physicians to pinpoint the cause of illness or injury in a shorter period of time than previously possible.”

The high resolution imaging capabilities of BrightSpeed lets physicians optimize each dose to the patient, thus reducing exposure to radiation while at the same time gathering required diagnostic information that may reduce the need for additional, and sometimes uncomfortable, procedures. With advanced data processing features, patient information can be quickly shared with referring physicians, including three-dimensional renderings of internal organs.

“As the first imaging center in our area to offer this technology, Telluride Medical Center is on the leading edge of providing excellent patient care that benefits both patients and physicians,” said Gordon Reichard, administrator. “We are proud to once again raise the level of excellence in the healthcare services offered to the residents of Telluride Region.”