TWO new state of the art imagine machines, one of which is the first of its kind in Scotland, have been installed at Forth Valley Royal Hospital.

These machines will help diagnose and treat a wide array of health conditions by enabling images to be captured far quicker than previous imagine equipment.

The new Ultimax machine now sits in the fluoroscopy room in the Radiology Department and uses contras dye to create high quality images and videos.

This technology can be used to examine patients experiencing difficulties chewing and swallowing food and can assess joints to identify if a patient would benefit from a hip or knee replacement.

Jennifer Gilchrist, radiology services manager for NHS Forth Valley, said: “Technology has moved on significantly since the hospital opened and, although the previous radiology equipment has served us well, these new state-of-the-art machines provide clearer, high-quality images and the ability to carry out a range of more complex procedures which some patients had to travel to Glasgow for in the past.

“Advances in digital technology captures images far faster than older machines which enables us to image more patients each day and keep pace with increasing demand.

“This helps free up inpatient beds as the majority of patients can be treated and return home on the next day.

“Improve image quality also enables our Radiology Advanced Practice Nurses to complete more cases and supports their ongoing training and development.”

The interventional room within the Radiology Department has also been upgraded with the installation of a new Alpehnix Sky+ system.

This is the first of its kind in Scotland and has the ability to fully rotate from either side of the patient table, capturing images from every angle.

It will also be used to carry out complex procedures to insert metal coils into veins or arteries to cut off the blood supply to cancerous tumours.

The machines also use lower dose of radiation than previous machines, which is healthier for patients in the long haul, especially for those who need multiple scans.