Radiology
Tracy O'Brien explains what radiology is and how it's used to help diagnose and treat injuries and diseases.
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Learn more about Tracy O'Brien, BS
Tracy O'Brien, BS, RT(R)
Tracy O’Brien is the Director of Radiology for Shriners Hospitals for Children in Chicago. She works closely with staff members and administration to provide the highest quality care to our patients. After working for nearly two decades for Shriners, Tracy believes in the mission and vision of Shriners Hospitals for Children because it closely reflects how she lives in her daily life. Tracy has gone from staff technologist to director of radiology and has made it her pursuit to continue to find the best methods for lower patient radiation dose. Tracy holds a certificate in radiography and a Bachelor’s of Science in Imaging Technology from Resurrection University.Learn more about Tracy O'Brien, BS
Transcription:
Melanie Cole (Host): Welcome. Today we’re talking about radiology and x-rays for children. Shriners Hospitals for Children — Chicago has some of the latest technology for capturing x-ray images including a low-dose EOS machine that may reduce radiation exposure by 50-80% if a child needs x-rays. My guest is Tracy O’Brien. She’s the Director of Radiology for Shriners Hospitals for Children in Chicago. So glad to have you here. How has Shriners Hospitals for Children in Chicago’s radiology department changed and advanced over the last 20 years? Give us a little history on how its evolved.
Tracy O’Brien BS, RT(R) (Guest): Well when I first started here at Shriners which was in 1999, we were using film for all of our x-rays. Film in the department and we had to develop it and just like how cameras have changed over the years and now that they are digital images and even, they are on our phone, but prior they used to have to go to Walgreens or wherever to go and develop your images.
Well, that’s how it was when I first started here and throughout the years, we’ve gotten more advanced. We had computed radiography equipment that was put in in 2008 and that kept us going and kept us up with the times, but now everything is digital now. And everything is digital capable within our department which means lower radiation dose for our patients and just an all around better experience for our patients and families.
Host: Isn’t that amazing how technology changes? So, give us a brief overview of what you do and where you take x-rays in the hospital.
Tracy: We have one general RAD room; we have one room that takes fluoro images which is live pictures on patients. We have another room that’s called a DEXA room which measures the patient’s bone density and percentage of body fat and we have and EOS machine which is kind of a rarity in the area. But we take pictures in the department. We take pictures on the nursing units. We are in the OR with the surgeons taking either live x-rays in there as well. We have other units that are called C-Arms that are fluoro units that are live, and you are seeing it as the surgeon is doing surgery. And we take – we just take images wherever it’s needed. Those are the most common places. We also take pictures of craniofacial imaging so of patients, their face and their teeth and that’s a whole separate area in our hospital where it’s just dedicated to just to that our craniofacial population.
Host: Thank you for that explanation. So, speaking of EOS, tell us what it is. It’s really pretty cool piece of equipment, yes?
Tracy: Yes. We’re proud to say that we were the first hospital in the Chicagoland area to have the equipment and the first children’s hospital to still be going with it. There are 18 of them in all of our Shriners’ facilities and this piece of equipment has lower patient dose, it has reduced taking any kind of extra x-rays because it takes dual x-rays which means it takes an x-ray from the front and from the side at the same time. You can see everything that’s happening with the patients right away and again, it’s all digital and I know that this might sound funny, like in the real world, but in x-ray world, when you can lower a dose on a patient; it is like the best thing in the world that you possibly can do.
Especially the patients that we have here at Shriners where they come back time and time again to have x-rays; if we can lower that dose and still give the doctors everything that they need to see; it is just the best feeling for us that we know that we are servicing our patients in that manner.
Host: So, tell us about some of the patients that you work with. You mentioned how great it is that the low dose radiation because you see them again and again. You see some of these patients Tracy over and over for years and you build relationships with their families. Tell us a little bit about that and how it’s really different than many other healthcare facilities.
Tracy: Yes. I mean there’s patients that I have known again, I’ve been here 20 years and there’s patients that I took their x-rays first when they were infants, babies and the come back and they are grown young men and young ladies and it’s crazy to see the change in them throughout the years. and there’s something that we pride ourselves on here at Shriners Hospital for Children in Chicago is that we don’t use any restraining devices on our patients. Because they come back over and over again, we want them to be comfortable and happy with us and with the care that they are given.
So, we are in the rooms a lot with them. We’re singers, but not really, but that’s what we’ll do if we need to. We’ll be singing to these patients just trying to calm them, just trying to hold them steady and over the years, you do, you just build a great rapport with the patients, with their families and you just start getting to know them and getting to know everything that they are about. At most other facilities, you don’t see patients come back on a regular basis. Or if you do, it won’t be for years because you never know who is going to take their x-ray, they don’t have – like nothing at a regular hospital, nothing is planned, like where it is here and we see these patients, they come in for clinic visits, we know when they are going to have operations and you just build this great rapport with these kids and these families.
Host: Isn’t that wonderful? As we wrap up, tell listeners what you’d like them to know about the radiology department at Shriners Hospitals for Children in Chicago and how they can prepare their child for a visit with you, if they haven’t been there before and the children might be a little bit nervous about some of these tests that you’ve mentioned; how can they prepare and what would you like them to know?
Tracy: The first thing I’d to know is the teamwork that we have established here in the radiology department. It’s a necessity when we are working with the types of patients that we work with. So, we will work together to try to make the patient comfortable, the family comfortable and explain everything that is happening and going on and just try to make their experience wonderful.
Something else to be proud of, most of our technologists have been here for years. we have one who has been here 17 years, 15 years, 10 years et cetera and everybody is very experienced with whatever kind of orthopedic or craniofacial ailment that they may have.
I’d like these patients to know that we are always here for them, no matter what and we like to make their experience easy, and fast here in the radiology department at Shriners Hospitals for Children in Chicago.
Host: Thank you so much Tracy for joining us and sharing your expertise for the many families that come with their children to have x-ray capabilities at Shriners Hospital. That wraps up another episode of Pediatric Specialty Care Spotlight with Shriners Hospital for Children in Chicago. Head on over to our website at www.shrinerschicago.org for more information and to get connected with one of your providers. If you found this podcast as cool as I did, please share with your friends and family, share on social media and be sure to check out all the other interesting podcasts in our library. I’m Melanie Cole.
Melanie Cole (Host): Welcome. Today we’re talking about radiology and x-rays for children. Shriners Hospitals for Children — Chicago has some of the latest technology for capturing x-ray images including a low-dose EOS machine that may reduce radiation exposure by 50-80% if a child needs x-rays. My guest is Tracy O’Brien. She’s the Director of Radiology for Shriners Hospitals for Children in Chicago. So glad to have you here. How has Shriners Hospitals for Children in Chicago’s radiology department changed and advanced over the last 20 years? Give us a little history on how its evolved.
Tracy O’Brien BS, RT(R) (Guest): Well when I first started here at Shriners which was in 1999, we were using film for all of our x-rays. Film in the department and we had to develop it and just like how cameras have changed over the years and now that they are digital images and even, they are on our phone, but prior they used to have to go to Walgreens or wherever to go and develop your images.
Well, that’s how it was when I first started here and throughout the years, we’ve gotten more advanced. We had computed radiography equipment that was put in in 2008 and that kept us going and kept us up with the times, but now everything is digital now. And everything is digital capable within our department which means lower radiation dose for our patients and just an all around better experience for our patients and families.
Host: Isn’t that amazing how technology changes? So, give us a brief overview of what you do and where you take x-rays in the hospital.
Tracy: We have one general RAD room; we have one room that takes fluoro images which is live pictures on patients. We have another room that’s called a DEXA room which measures the patient’s bone density and percentage of body fat and we have and EOS machine which is kind of a rarity in the area. But we take pictures in the department. We take pictures on the nursing units. We are in the OR with the surgeons taking either live x-rays in there as well. We have other units that are called C-Arms that are fluoro units that are live, and you are seeing it as the surgeon is doing surgery. And we take – we just take images wherever it’s needed. Those are the most common places. We also take pictures of craniofacial imaging so of patients, their face and their teeth and that’s a whole separate area in our hospital where it’s just dedicated to just to that our craniofacial population.
Host: Thank you for that explanation. So, speaking of EOS, tell us what it is. It’s really pretty cool piece of equipment, yes?
Tracy: Yes. We’re proud to say that we were the first hospital in the Chicagoland area to have the equipment and the first children’s hospital to still be going with it. There are 18 of them in all of our Shriners’ facilities and this piece of equipment has lower patient dose, it has reduced taking any kind of extra x-rays because it takes dual x-rays which means it takes an x-ray from the front and from the side at the same time. You can see everything that’s happening with the patients right away and again, it’s all digital and I know that this might sound funny, like in the real world, but in x-ray world, when you can lower a dose on a patient; it is like the best thing in the world that you possibly can do.
Especially the patients that we have here at Shriners where they come back time and time again to have x-rays; if we can lower that dose and still give the doctors everything that they need to see; it is just the best feeling for us that we know that we are servicing our patients in that manner.
Host: So, tell us about some of the patients that you work with. You mentioned how great it is that the low dose radiation because you see them again and again. You see some of these patients Tracy over and over for years and you build relationships with their families. Tell us a little bit about that and how it’s really different than many other healthcare facilities.
Tracy: Yes. I mean there’s patients that I have known again, I’ve been here 20 years and there’s patients that I took their x-rays first when they were infants, babies and the come back and they are grown young men and young ladies and it’s crazy to see the change in them throughout the years. and there’s something that we pride ourselves on here at Shriners Hospital for Children in Chicago is that we don’t use any restraining devices on our patients. Because they come back over and over again, we want them to be comfortable and happy with us and with the care that they are given.
So, we are in the rooms a lot with them. We’re singers, but not really, but that’s what we’ll do if we need to. We’ll be singing to these patients just trying to calm them, just trying to hold them steady and over the years, you do, you just build a great rapport with the patients, with their families and you just start getting to know them and getting to know everything that they are about. At most other facilities, you don’t see patients come back on a regular basis. Or if you do, it won’t be for years because you never know who is going to take their x-ray, they don’t have – like nothing at a regular hospital, nothing is planned, like where it is here and we see these patients, they come in for clinic visits, we know when they are going to have operations and you just build this great rapport with these kids and these families.
Host: Isn’t that wonderful? As we wrap up, tell listeners what you’d like them to know about the radiology department at Shriners Hospitals for Children in Chicago and how they can prepare their child for a visit with you, if they haven’t been there before and the children might be a little bit nervous about some of these tests that you’ve mentioned; how can they prepare and what would you like them to know?
Tracy: The first thing I’d to know is the teamwork that we have established here in the radiology department. It’s a necessity when we are working with the types of patients that we work with. So, we will work together to try to make the patient comfortable, the family comfortable and explain everything that is happening and going on and just try to make their experience wonderful.
Something else to be proud of, most of our technologists have been here for years. we have one who has been here 17 years, 15 years, 10 years et cetera and everybody is very experienced with whatever kind of orthopedic or craniofacial ailment that they may have.
I’d like these patients to know that we are always here for them, no matter what and we like to make their experience easy, and fast here in the radiology department at Shriners Hospitals for Children in Chicago.
Host: Thank you so much Tracy for joining us and sharing your expertise for the many families that come with their children to have x-ray capabilities at Shriners Hospital. That wraps up another episode of Pediatric Specialty Care Spotlight with Shriners Hospital for Children in Chicago. Head on over to our website at www.shrinerschicago.org for more information and to get connected with one of your providers. If you found this podcast as cool as I did, please share with your friends and family, share on social media and be sure to check out all the other interesting podcasts in our library. I’m Melanie Cole.