Medical services improve with arrival of new machine

MISAWA AIR BASE, Japan -- Left to right: Col. Michael Rothstein, 35th Fighter Wing commander; Col. Terry Haske, 35th Medical Group commander; Dr. Yuh Sakata, Misawa City Hospital chief executive Officer; and Col. Shinya Bekku, Japan Air Self-Defense Force Misawa Hospital commander, cut the ribbon for the new CT scanner at the 35th MDG Diagnostic Imaging Department June 1. The 35th MDG Diagnostic Imaging Department provides imaging support 24/7 for the Misawa military treatment facility. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Marie Brown/Released)

Medical services improve with arrival of new machine

MISAWA AIR BASE, Japan -- Dr. Yuh Sakata, Misawa City Hospital chief executive officer, left, and Col. Michael Rothstein, 35th Fighter Wing commander, discuss the new CT scanner at the 35th Medical Group Diagnostic Imaging Department June 1. With this scanner, the 35th MDG will be able to perform 100 percent of its CT scans in-house, representing a major change in contingency operations as all prior patients needing CT scans were sent to Misawa City Hospital. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Marie Brown/Released)

Medical services improve with arrival of new machine

MISAWA AIR BASE, Japan -- Col. Michael Rothstein, 35th Fighter Wing commander, left, and Col. Terry Haske, 35th Medical Group commander, discuss the new CT scanner at the 35th MDG Diagnostic Imaging Department June 1. The CT scanner is a state-of-the-art device with powerful imaging and data processing capability that can produce 3-dimensional images of scanned body parts. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Marie Brown/Released)

Medical services improve with arrival of new machine

Published June 2, 2011
By Staff Sgt. Rachel Martinez
35th Fighter Wing Public Affairs

MISAWA AIR BASE, Japan -- The 35th Medical Group Diagnostic Imaging Department can now offer their patients more comprehensive service thanks to the arrival of a new CT scanner, a first for the department.

The $1.1 million CT scanner project has been in development for approximately 18 months and represents a major increase in capability for the 35th MDG, according to the department's flight commander.

"The need to send patients out for CT scans has limited our ability to provide emergency patient care; for this and logistical reasons Misawa pushed very hard to acquire its own CT scanner," said Lt. Col. Paul DiDomenico, 35th Surgical Operations Squadron Diagnostic Imaging Department flight commander. "This machine represents a major improvement for us and what we can do for the medical group."

The department's radiologist and technologists offer 24-hour support for X-rays, ultrasounds, and mammography services. Previously, patients requiring CT scans had to be transported to Misawa City Hospital off-base where the scans could be taken, and then transported back to the 35th MDG medical treatment facility with a copy of their scans.

"I'm very excited to start using the CT scanner - I want to know the capabilities of this machine," said Tech. Sgt. Tracey McLendon, 35th MSGS Diagnostic Imaging Department flight chief. "Apparently, we can delete body parts to see other parts better and we can see the scan from different angles. This is a top-of-the-line machine - what used to be a 20-30 minute exam will only take 5 minutes."

The 35th MDG will still rely on Misawa City Hospital and the Japan Air Self-Defense Force hospital for MRIs and nuclear medicine studies, but the technologists assigned to the base's diagnostic imaging department can now offer CT scans in-house. Training on the new machine will take place over the next few weeks with patient service to follow.