CVH Rolls Out Mobile X-Ray Technology

Last month, technicians in the Carson Valley Health advanced medical imaging & diagnostics department welcomed a new portable X-ray machine to its fleet of services.

The technology will allow for bedside imaging and diagnostics throughout Carson VMC’s emergency room, acute care hospital and ICU -- all located on CVH’s main campus in south Gardnerville.

“We’re very excited to have access to this type of technology for our patients,” said Dr. Lars Ensign of the CVH emergency department. “Now we have a machine that can be moved easily into the patient’s room. It has a viewing screen on it so that, with critically ill patients, I can see what is going on right away as opposed to sending them down to the radiology department and waiting while the images are loaded into the system and then while I log in to find the images on a separate computer.

“With critically ill patients, you can get to the information you need much, much faster. It’s all right there in the room with you.”

The machine, which is built into a motorized cart able to travel from room to room within the emergency department and hospital, represented a substantial upgrade to CVH’s medical imaging services.

It will be used in critical and emergency care situations, as well as alleviating the need to physically move a patient when faced with a possible dislocation or fracture. It can also be used to assist in the placement of an internal venous line.

“It is the newest system of its kind in the greater Carson Valley area, and that includes Lake Tahoe, Carson City and Reno,” CVH Medical Imaging Manager Michael Jones said. “It affords patients and our physicians immediate access to diagnostic tools that can be used bedside. Now, our physicians will be able to diagnose bedside before the X-ray technician even leaves the room.”

“This is especially important in our emergency department due to the immediacy of it. When seconds matter the most, this new technology affords our patients and physicians those extra minutes.”

The acquisition of the new technology came as a result of a combined effort between the CVH board of directors and administrative team.

Along with the addition of the X-ray machine, one of the department’s imaging suites was outfitted with new digital radiology (DR) capabilities.

This will allow X-ray images to be instantly recorded in digital format as compared with the previous computer radiology process which required each X-ray image taken in the department to be converted manually to a digital file -- a process that often took 10-15 minutes per image.

Carson Valley Health is a nonprofit medical organization that provides acute and ICU care, surgery, 24-hour emergency services, primary care and outpatient services throughout Carson Valley.

A partnership of Barton Health and Renown Health, Carson Valley Health’s mission is to care for the health and wellness of our community by providing accessible, affordable, high-quality healthcare for all. For more information, visit www.cvmchospital.org.