Young patients benefit from new ultrasound scanner

The £72,000 machine was bought for the hospital’s Cygnet Wing by Bedford Hospital’s Charity to allow doctors to carry out echocardiograms and cranial scans on the ward.

This means babies and children no longer have to wait for an appointment with an adult clinic for their examination.

Associate Director of Operations for Women and Children’s Services Lynda Fitzgerald said the new machine has interchangeable attachments enabling doctors to take scans of a child’s head and heart.

She said: “Our specialist paediatrician Dr Nair holds regular clinics at Bedford Hospital and Great Ormond Street Hospital.

“The multiscanner means young outpatients can now have their scan at Bedford rather than having to travel to London, as they did in the past, or them having to rebook and wait for an adult appointment.”

She added it also allows urgent scans to be carried out on inpatients in the Riverbank ward, in particular in the Neonatal Unit.

The machine has been used since the end of July. The echocardiogram function allows doctors to see the heart beating, the flow of blood and how the valves are operating. The echocardiogram is a moving picture but still images can be produced for taking measurements.

It’s cranial scan facility gives information about the brains of pre-term babies.