Tata Memorial Hospital

The department of Radio-diagnosis has a vital role to play in a tertiary referral centre for cancer such as the Tata Memorial Hospital, as it caters to the needs of several departments including the surgical, medical and radiation oncology departments.

Dr (Mrs) K A Dinshaw, Director, Tata Memorial Centre and Professor & Head, Department of Radiology with Mr Jeff Immelt, President and CEO, GE Medical Systems and Mr Fujimori, President & CEO, GE Medical Systems South Asia

Accurate staging of a tumour is made possible by various imaging studies which enable the radiologist to determine the precise size and extent of a tumour, possible invasion of adjacent organs of blood vessels, whether it has spread to regional lymph nodes and whether metastases to distant sites have occurred. This information enables planning the therapy for the patient, keeping in mind the stage of the disease.

The large variety and depth of information that can be provided by radiological investigations is shown by the large number of imaging modalities in the armamentarium of a modern Radio-diagnosis Department, all of which are complementary to each other. However, for high quality imaging and accurate diagnosis nothing can substitute the intelligent usage of equipment manned by skilled personnel. At the Tata Memorial Hospital, the department of Radio-diagnosis has, since its inception, received timely upgrades of its equipment which were essential to possess capability at the cutting edge of technology. The latest upgrade, completed in February 2000, features the induction of several new state-of-the-art imaging modalities such as Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Colour Doppler, Digital Imaging and Digital Subtraction Angiography and Digital Spot Mammography with stereotactic breast biopsy which will enable the department to step into the new millennium as a modern, fully equipped imaging department.

Conventional Radiology :
• Two 500mA X-Ray machines
• Two Mass Miniature Radiography (MMR) units
• Four X-Ray units equipped with Image Intensifier TV Systems.
• For specialized contrast procedures such as Barium studies, Intravenous Urography, Cystourethrograms, Myelograms and Angiograms.
• Orthopantomography (OPG) unit
• Rotograph Plus to obtain panoramic views of the upper and lower jaws for evaluation of diseases involving the teeth and jaws.
• Five mobile X-Ray machines

Mammography :
• Two dedicated Mammography units
• The Mammomat 2
• New GE Senographe DMR Mammography unit is a state-of-the-art unit equipped with senovision digital spot filming and stereotactic biopsy facilities.
• The Senovision digital stereotactic biopsy facility is perhaps a unique equipment in operation in the country. It enables quick and highly accurate needle biopsy of suspicious breast lesions, with marked reduction in patient discomfort because of shorter time required for biopsy. The digital spot filming capability permits electronic manipulation and magnification of images. This is important to the radiologist for providing better visualization and more accurate diagnosis of small lesions and microcalcifications in the breast.

Digital Radiography and Fluoroscopy : The new Advantx Legacy 1000mA X-Ray unit with a high power, digital radiography/fluoroscopy system that acquires X-Ray images in a digital format. It is employed for specialized contrast procedures such as barium swallow, barius meal, myelograms and for Digital Subtraction Angiography (DSA). The digital format allows manipulation and magnification of the images to improve contrast and make the lesions look more conspicuous. The DSA facility permits accurate visualization of blood vessels after injection of contrast medium and allows lower dose of contrast as compared to conventional angiography. It is of great value in studying diseases of blood vessels, blood supply to the tumours and mapping vascular anatomy in various parts of the body.

Ultrasonography and Colour Doppler : RT 3200 Sterling GE LOGIQ 500 GE LOGIQ 700 Portable Ultrasound Scanners - the Capasee and SDR 1200 units

Radiation Medicine Centre Gets First Medical Cyclotron with PET-Advance Scanner in India

All of these are equipped with a variety of multi-frequency sectors, linear and convex probes. These scanners allow examination of the abdomen, pelvis and other organs such as the breast, scrotum, thyroid and eye with a high degree of sensitivity. They provide useful information regarding the size and extent of tumours, lymphnode enlargement and metastatic deposits in the liver and other organs. Special Endorectal and Endovaginal probes are used to obtain better visualization of the pelvic organs and prostate gland.

The top-of-the-line LOGIQ 700 unit incorporates features such as Tissue Harmonic Imaging, Coded Excitation and 3-D Imaging, which permit high resolution images of superficial and deep structures to be obtained.

The CFM-800 Endovascular Ultrasound is available for detailed assessment of blood vessels using a special intravascular probe and useful for endovascular brachytherapy.

Computerised Tomography (CT) :
• Somatom Plus 4 Spiral CT Scanner
• Dual/Triple Phase contrast enhanced scans are also performed with the spiral scanning techniques.

  Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) :
  The state-of-the-art, high field strength 1.5 Tesla Signa Echospeed MRI System, with attached Advantage Workstation. MR imaging is of great value for the brain and spine, with excellent differentiation of grey and white matter, normal and abnormal tissues. It has also proved to be of value in the head and neck regions and for evaluation of the musculoskeletal system and joints. It depicts changes in bone marrow with great clarity. MR imaging of abdominal and pelvic organs can also provide useful information regarding characterization, staging

  

  Interventional Radiology :
  A number of interventional procedures such as Percutaneous Nephrostomy, Stenting, Percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage, tumour embolization and coeliac plexus blocks are carried out in the department to assist in the management of cancer patients, and for relief of pain and other symptoms.

  Networking/PACS :
  A Radiology Information System (RIS) with networking and Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS) is being established. In the first phase, the digital imaging modalities i.e. CT, MRi, Colour Doppler and Digital Radiography (DSA) units are being networked for intra-departmental transfer and storage of images in digital format with GE PACS. The RIS will also be integrated with the Hospital Information Systems, enabling images and reports to be transmitted to sites