Radiology offers the best to our patients

Avera St. Luke’s is proud of the advanced technology and diagnostic tools we offer, and our Radiology Department is a great example of offering the best to our patients.

Full-Field Direct Digital Mammography

We offer full-field direct digital mammography in our new Imaging Center in Avera St. Luke's Healthcare Plaza, another important tool in the detection of breast cancer. Our mammography equipment is TRULY digital, featuring the first and only service of its kind in our region and the only state-of-the-art, accredited, full-field mammography unit in Aberdeen.

We offer the only certified diagnostic mammography within 200 miles of Aberdeen.

Our mammography staff is highly trained and experienced. All of our technologists are registered radiologic technologists with advanced certification in mammography. Our mammograms are ‘double-read’; that is, each image is read by two on-site radiologists.

Our Imaging Center is also unique as a free-standing facility, providing up-to-the-front-door accessibility and convenience. Patients appreciate the additional privacy and not having to navigate through hallways. Our mammography unit is located in an area designated as the Women's Center for additional privacy and convenience.

We offer both screening and diagnostic mammography services. Our program performs more than 10,000 mammograms annually.

CT Scans

With two state-of-the art computed tomography scanners at Avera St. Luke's, plus a new CT scanner in Avera St. Luke's Imaging Center to serve outpatients, patients and health care professionals now receive faster, higher quality, and even more detailed images of the human body. The GE Medical Systems Lightspeed16 CT scanner has the power to scan finer, faster and further. It can deliver 16 images, or slices, in just a second. By using dual slices, two pictures can be taken at the same time. The GE QX/I CT scanner allows doctors to simultaneously capture multiple images of a patient’s anatomy up to six times faster than traditional single-slice CT scanners.

PET/CT Scan Technology

We offer the unique advantages of the revolutionary PET/CT imaging technology. This hybrid technology that combines the strengths of two well-established imaging scanners can more accurately diagnose and locate cancers while increasing patient comfort. It’s a noninvasive, painless and quick test. PET scans, or positron emission tomography, use a radioactive tracer to detect increased metabolic activity found in cancerous growths. CT scans – computed tomography – use computerized analysis of X-rays to detect tumors. The combined technique merges the two into a single exam, allowing doctors to see tumor anatomy and function simultaneously.

To learn more about PET/CT, go to www.dmspet.com

MRI

Avera St. Luke’s offers patients the latest in Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) technology. Our high field magnet was recently updated to offer the fastest, most advanced MRI scanning. MRI is a method used by physicians to visualize internal organs of the human body and obtain diagnostic information. These images are produced without the use of radiation, and the scan is painless. We are able to perform MR angiograms, which is a diagnostic study that shows the blood flow through the body’s arteries. New imaging with MRI also is able to show early indications of brain deterioration due to strokes or Alzheimer’s. 

VNUS® ClosureFAST

Avera St. Luke’s is now offering VNUS® ClosureFAST, a clinically proven, minimally invasive procedure that treats varicose veins and their underlying cause, venous reflux.

Using ultrasound, the physician positions the Closure catheter into the diseased vein, through a small opening in the skin. The tiny catheter delivers radio-frequency (RF) energy to the vein wall. As the RF energy is delivered and the catheter is withdrawn, the vein wall is heated, causing the collagen in the wall to shrink and the vein to close. Once the diseased vein is closed, blood is re-routed to other healthy veins.

The most important step in determining whether or not the Closure procedure is appropriate is a complete ultrasound examination. For more information, contact Tony Kallas, Radiology operations manager, at (605) 622-5071.

PACS

The hospital is part of cutting-edge technology in radiology, going “filmless” with the Picture Archival and Communications System (PACS). X-ray films have been replaced by digital images that are processed and stored electronically, and can be quickly retrieved and viewed on computer monitors. Viewing an X-ray had been one-dimensional; now images can be rotated, enlarged, sharpened, and seen in multi-dimensional ways.

Other Services

Other imaging services offered:

• Fluoroscopy
• Ultrasound
• Nuclear Medicine
• Stereotactic Breast Biopsy
• DEXA (Bone Density Testing)
• Direct radiology