Doha: In recognition of World Radiography Day, Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) is spreading awareness about the important role of radiography in medicine.
Dr Mahmoud Heidous, Head of the Radiology Department at Al Wakra Hospital, says Al Wakra Hospital offers the most advanced diagnostic radiography equipment and is providing a service that residents of Al Wakra, and the surrounding communities, once had to travel to Doha for.
“Since the beginning of this year the Radiology Department at Al Wakra Hospital has served more than 20,000 patients,” said Dr Heidous.
Dr Heidous says radiographers are an important part of the healthcare team, adding that the imaging radiography provides allows for high accuracy and precision in both diagnosis and treatment plans. “Many people don't know what a radiographer does. If you have an accident and go to hospital, the chances are that you will see a diagnostic radiographer. They produce images that are used to diagnose injury or disease, and radiography is also used therapeutically during image-guided, minimal invasive procedures, like biopsies and giving injections for nerve blocking in the spine and joints,” said Dr Heidous.
Diagnostic radiology includes X-rays that provides images of the bones, ultrasound to monitor unborn babies and diagnose problems in organs, like the liver, fluoroscopy to check the digestive system, CT scans to create cross-sectional images of the bones and soft tissue in the body, MRI’s to build a 2D or 3D map of the body’s tissue and angiography, which takes images of blood vessels. Radiotherapy is also used to treat cancer, which is a special treatment available at HMC’s National Center for Cancer Care and Research.
“Here at Al Wakra Hospital we have the most advanced diagnostic radiography equipment to meet the needs of the growing population. Our services have reduced the waiting time for children requiring anaesthesia during MRI’s by taking cases from Hamad General Hospital’s long waiting list,” says Dr Heidous.
Al Wakra Hospital is also planning to provide mammography services for breast cancer screening in the near future.
“We have all the facilities and we are in the process of increasing our manpower. Our plans to further expand and recruit more healthcare professionals will further support our goal of meeting the needs of the population in the future,” added Dr Heidous.
World Radiography Day is celebrated every year on November 8. The Day marks the anniversary of the discovery of X-rays by Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen in 1895. Radiologists around the world recognise the day by raising awareness about radiographic imaging and therapy.
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