Taylor Leddin McMaster (Host): Hello listeners and thanks for tuning in to the Well Within Reach podcast brought to you by Riverside HealthCare. I'm your host Taylor Leddin McMaster and joining me today is Garrard Hendrix, Riverside Medical Center's Nuclear Medicine Supervisor. And today we're going to talk about Riverside's new PET scanner and imaging technology. Welcome.

Garrard Hendrix, CNMT, BS, ARSO: Hi, glad to be here.

Host: Yeah, thank you for being here. Before we get into today's episode, we're going to take a quick break for a quick message about MyChart.

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Taylor Leddin McMaster (Host): And we're back. So Garrard, can you tell us a bit about yourself, when you joined Riverside and what your role is in the organization?

Garrard Hendrix, CNMT, BS, ARSO: Well, I joined Riverside in 2007, and I'm now the Nuclear Medicine Supervisor, as well as the hospital's Alternate Radiation Safety Officer.

Host: Okay, so what do you do on a daily basis?  

Garrard Hendrix, CNMT, BS, ARSO: Primarily my functions are patient care. Also making sure the hospital's dosimetry is taken care of and taking care of basically any radiation safety issues.

Host: Wow, that's really important work.

Garrard Hendrix, CNMT, BS, ARSO: I like to think so.

Host: What exactly is nuclear medicine and how is that used at Riverside?

Garrard Hendrix, CNMT, BS, ARSO: Nuclear medicine is a medical specialty that uses small amounts of radioactive materials known as radiopharmaceuticals to diagnose and treat diseases. It involves imaging techniques such as positron emission tomography or PET scans, also single photon emission computed tomography, otherwise known as SPECT imaging.

These techniques are used to observe the function of organs and tissues in the body. Nuclear medicine can also be used for targeted treatments for certain types of cancers where radioactive substances are used directly to treat tumors. One of the key advantages or abilities in our area is to provide functional information about the body rather than just structural imaging like CT or x-ray.

Host: Okay. So Riverside recently installed a new PET scanner and upgraded imaging technology at the Bourbonnais campus. Can you tell us a bit about these upgrades?

Garrard Hendrix, CNMT, BS, ARSO: Sure. Well first off, the Riverside Bourbonnais Clinic Imaging Refresh Project consists of a newly constructed 5,000 square feet imaging suite. It's outfitted with three new imaging systems. These imaging systems consist of the Canon Cartesian Prime digital AI assisted PET CT camera. Our CT imaging system has been upgraded to the new Canon Aquilion One Prime with ACE and Deep Learning Spectral Reconstruction. We also have installed the new Siemens MRI Magnetome Sola with Deep Resolve technology.

Host: Oh, wow. That all sounds way over my head, but all very cool. Can you talk a bit about the capabilities of this new technology?

Garrard Hendrix, CNMT, BS, ARSO: Well, I'm glad you asked. Specifically, our Canon Cartesian Prime is designed to deliver excellent image quality with accurate quantification while optimizing patient dose. It also brings AI technology by way of Canon's ACE Deep Learning Reconstruction, which is a learning algorithm trained to differentiate noise versus signal. Noise is the bad part, and signal is a good thing.

Host: Okay.

Garrard Hendrix, CNMT, BS, ARSO: The noise is suppressed while enhancing the true signal for precise imaging and accurate diagnosing. Then we have our Canon Aquilian CT system with ACE, combining the power of deep learning spectral reconstruction with advanced intelligent clear IQ engine. That's a mouthful, isn't it?

Host: Yeah, right?

Garrard Hendrix, CNMT, BS, ARSO: Well, we now have a CT system that is designed for deep intelligence. The AI powered super resolution technology, with the redesigned workflow experience, will meet our needs with both routine and advanced imaging capabilities. This will accomplish this, with high quality, reliable results and fast imaging times.

I mean, this thing is pretty cool. In just one rotation, it can acquire an entire heart in a fraction of a second.

Host: Wow. That's remarkable.

Garrard Hendrix, CNMT, BS, ARSO: Lastly, our MRI system is the Magnetome Sola with Siemens with deep resolve technology. It has multiple techniques to increase scan speed and image quality. This includes AI powered deep resolve sharp and deep resolve boost. Both deep resolve techniques take advantage of convolutional neural networks, that's a mouthful, to accelerate MRI scans. Faster scans boost workflow efficiency while improving the patient experience overall.

Host: Okay, thank you for that.

Before we continue our conversation, we're going to take a moment to talk about the importance of primary care. At Riverside HealthCare, your primary care provider is dedicated to being in your corner, helping you and your family stay healthy and thrive. Find the right primary care provider for you at riversidehealthcare.org/primarycare. 

 From annual screenings to well checks and everything in between, having a primary care provider that you can trust makes all the difference.

All right, we're back with our conversation with Garrard Hendrix, who's telling us about the new PET scanning and imaging capabilities at the Bourbonnais campus.

He just told us about the specifications of these machines and the capabilities, but can you tell us what the catalyst was for the upgrades and what these services kind of looked like before?

Garrard Hendrix, CNMT, BS, ARSO: Absolutely. Well, the catalyst for upgrading our services is and will always be to deliver the highest standard of care as well as the most convenient patient experience possible.

Host: Absolutely.  

Garrard Hendrix, CNMT, BS, ARSO: Prior to Riverside installing the first fixed PET CT system in Kankakee County, these services were provided by a third party vendor in shared imaging. PET CT imaging was performed in a trailer that docked next to the Bourbonnais Clinic, and although this partnership was very successful for many years, our patients had to brave the elements, rain, sleet, and snow.

This was obviously not ideal, so it was decided that it was time to optimize our patient experience and deliver in house PET CT services. Now, we've always provided fixed MRI and CT solutions at our Bourbonnais clinic, however, it's Riverside principal intent to provide our patients with the most cutting edge technology as the premier healthcare provider in this county as well as surrounding communities.

Host: Fantastic. So you spoke a little bit about how patients had to brave the elements to go in the trailer. So clearly being inside is a benefit to them. Can you speak more to how the technology benefits both patients and providers?

Garrard Hendrix, CNMT, BS, ARSO: Sure. Collectively, our new imaging systems have aligning benefits. A huge advantage of all three is shortening imaging times. I mean, patient throughput is essential and is a win win for both our patients as well as our physicians. We can accommodate more people over shorter spans of time. We have also captured the power of AI with these new systems. This will help our clinicians accurately diagnose potential disease with improved image quality under a wide variety of imaging conditions.

Our intent is to deliver a better overall imaging experience for our patients. We accomplish this with accurate, faster, more comfortable scanning systems.

Host: Is there anything else on this subject that you'd like listeners to know about? 

Garrard Hendrix, CNMT, BS, ARSO: A common theme that you may have noticed as we look at the Bourbonnais Clinic expansion and our new imaging systems is Riverside's commitment to AI and how it interfaces with our daily functions. It's simply the wave of the future, but don't be alarmed, we're not looking to replace anybody with robots.

Okay. The truth is AI and healthcare is here to stay and it is vital because it enhances diagnostic accuracy, improves our patient outcomes, streamlines healthcare processes, and fosters future innovations. We as Riverside are positioned to take advantage of the newest and greatest technology available to us, as well as prepared to march forward towards what's on the horizon.

Host: Wonderful. Thank you for that. Yeah, I'm really excited to see how it all goes and benefits people and just, like you said, the next wave of the future and technology. It's all very, very interesting. Well, thank you for tuning into the Well Within Reach podcast with Garrard Hendrix, Riverside Medical Center's Nuclear Medicine Supervisor and your host Taylor Leddin McMaster.

To learn more about Riverside Health Care, visit myRHC.net.