Imaging Services Offer High-Tech Tools to Help Diagnose Illnesses Quickly and Accurately
Our imaging department offers a wide range of high-tech diagnostic equipment to help our staff learn what’s happening to our patients — which means patients can be diagnosed and treated quickly and accurately without driving across the valley.
The magnetic resonance imaging technology, for example, produces a magnetic field that’s 10,000 times greater than the earth’s magnetic field. And the computerized axial tomography scan can produce a three-dimensional model of your brain.
Our full-service Imaging Department can find a tumor in the brain, reveal a spot on an organ, or discover any number of abnormalities without even scratching a patient’s skin.
Overview of Services
Ultrasound involves bouncing high-frequency sound waves off of tissues within the body, then converting the echoes into images called sonograms.
Sonograms provide a look inside the body’s soft tissues and cavities, including views of a fetus in a mother’s womb.
A CT scan uses x-rays and multiple points of view to create three-dimensional images of body organs, which help physicians identify normal and abnormal structures in the body and help them accurately guide the placement of instruments and treatments.
MRI, or magnetic resonance imaging, creates a magnetic field that affects how atoms line up within the body. That alignment is measured using radio waves that are processed by a computer into detailed, three-dimensional images of the body’s soft tissues, including parts of the nervous system ranging from the brain to the spine.
Nuclear medicine involves using radioactive isotope tracers, which are normally introduced intravenously into the body, and recording how the body’s structures react to them to identify the presence, range, and form of abnormalities in internal organs.
Diagnostic imaging generally refers to the use of traditional technologies like x-rays to produce images of tissues, organs, and body parts to help physicians see problems within the body and recommend solutions.
Not only do we have the latest imaging technology, but we can detect problems faster than we ever have before. If someone comes in after having a stroke, we can detect its source in just 30 seconds. After the onset of a stroke, two million brain cells can die in just a minute. Every minute we save could mean the difference between permanent brain damage and full recovery. That’s incredible.
The Latest Technology
Intermountain Healthcare is using the latest technology to make sure patients at Riverton Hospital are safe, secure, and comfortable. Every department and every corner of the hospital is wired with cutting-edge tools that reinforce the staff’s ability to protect patients and ensure the highest degrees of satisfaction and quality.
Some Examples
Patients and visitors can use technology to find where they’re going. Inside the hospital’s entrance is a larges creen “welcome kiosk,” which patients and visitors can use to help them find a physician’s office, hospital department, or a clinic.
Software is used to keep nurses, doctors, and staff updated on the status of patients. For example, the Emergency Department staff can find out instantly where each of their patients are, what their needs are, and what rooms are available. Before, the staff had to call around and talk to the charge nurse to find out what was happening with patients and rooms. It’s much easier now, so the staff has more time to attend to patients.
The hospital uses high-tech medical dosing technology. Riverton Hospital uses AccuDose machines that dispense medications with Biometrics technology to ensure the accuracy of the medical doses and increase patient safety. It’s one more tool that helps us increase patient safety and deliver high-quality clinical outcomes.
Riverton Hospital uses bar code scanners as a final check before medication is administered. The codes help us make sure we’re fulfilling what we call the ‘Five Rights of Medication Administration’— the right medication, the right patient, the right time, the right route, and the right dose.
The hospital’s operating rooms are fully integrated with Intermountain Healthcare’s world-renowned clinical information system. Technology allows physicians to access high-resolution clinical images in real time. The staff talks with each other through hands-free, portable communication devices. Technology like this improves the efficiency of our people, which frees up more time for them to spend with patients.
The hospital uses the latest safety procedures in women/newborn units. These units can be completely locked down instantaneously to prevent any problems. And only authorized staff members with pre-coded badges are granted access to units with infants and newborns. All visitors and non-authorized staff need to get access from a unit clerk in order to enter a unit. A lot of hospitals are updating their facilities and adopting these procedures to increase patient safety, but we’re on the leading edge right from day one.
Riverton Hospital provides free wireless internet service throughout the facility. That helps patients and visitors stay plugged in with the people who love them and helps them pass the time while they’re here.
The bottom line is, our patients and visitors can know we’re using the latest technological wonders to help us care for them effectively and efficiently and ensure their safety. Plus, our patients and their loved ones will see that we’re doing all we can to make it enjoyable to be here. Those are important priorities to us.
Riverton Hospital’s Imaging Department is staffed by board-certified radiologists, who provide professional services and interpretation, as well as registered and licensed radiology technologists.