Royal Sussex County Hospital helps reduce general anaesthetic administration with Siemens' new MR technology

Royal Sussex County Hospital, part of Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals has helped to reduce the administration of general anaesthetic by a third in patients aged 4-17 by expanding its MR capability with the help of new technology from Siemens Healthcare. The MAGNETOM^® Aera 1.5T is part of a threefold operation to provide enhanced MR access to paediatric patients, relocate the neurology department and ensure a better experience for inpatients, due to its wide bore and comfort-enhancing features.

Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals reduces general anaesthetic administration by a third with MR technology. [Left to right, top row: Analiese Doctrove, Head of Fundraising at Rockinghorse Children’s Charity; Ryan Heal, Chief Executive at Rockinghorse Children’s Charity; Matthew Kershaw, Former Chief Executive; John Wilkinson, Imaging Services Manager; Sabina Dizdarevic, Principal Lead Consultant in Imaging and Nuclear Medicine; Paul Vaughan, Regional Sales Manager at Siemens Healthcare; Sally Walters, Children’s Play Specialist; Emily Durrant, Children’s Play Specialist. Left to right, bottom row: Helen Dawson, Senior Radiographer; Sophie English, Superintendent Radiographer; Darren Sanders, Superintendent Radiographer; Wendy Bates Superintendent Radiographer; Amy Farmer, Children’s Play Specialist at Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals]

“The new MAGNETOM Aera is adjacent to The Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital which provides a safer and more comfortable transition for our paediatric patients,” states John Wilkinson, Imaging Services Manager at Royal Sussex County Hospital. “Since the installation, Royal Sussex has reduced the administration of general anaesthetic to paediatric patients by a third due to increased compliance and comfort. This is due to a combination of factors including the wide bore system, which makes the process less claustrophobic and an in-bore television, kindly donated by Rockinghorse Children’s Charity so paediatric patients can have a more enjoyable and relaxing experience.”

Two further Aera 1.5T systems are due to be installed as part of the technology refresh and to further enhance the radiology offering. The systems will be used for a wide range of services including cardiac, breast, orthopaedic and prostate. The system will also be used to ensure better throughput for neurology patients following Royal Sussex’s appointment as a regional centre for neurology.

John Wilkinson continues:

The two Aera systems that will replace existing technology will allow the hospital to bring specialist breast and cardiac MR services in-house as we now have the advanced technological capability and high resolution image quality. We will be using the systems seven days a week which will greatly impact the out of hours MR service with patients being seen more rapidly.

Paul Vaughan, Regional Sales Manager at Siemens Healthcare adds:

With the installation of a MAGNETOM Aera and a further two systems later in the year, we are confident that Royal Sussex County Hospital will be able to deliver the safest and most comfortable service possible to its patient population. The systems will represent a huge step forward in terms of capability with the use of syngo.via^® applications for cardiac, breast and prostate imaging to help enhance the quality and speed of diagnosis.