Picture-perfect: North Ottawa is upgrading its imaging department
Sat, Apr 26, 2008 
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BY MARK BROOKY
mbrooky@grandhaventribune.com
The machines and computer systems inside the radiology department at North Ottawa Community Hospital are high-tech, and yet some are poised for upgrading to state of the art, the hospital's staff said.
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"We've got a lot of neat technology here that many people don't know about," said NOCH Marketing Coordinator Emily Stearley.
The hospital is in the process of acquiring a new CT (computed tomography) scanner, although the presently used X-ray machine is less than five years old. The present scanner is capable of producing 16-slice images from inside a patient, while the new $1.3 million scanner will produce 64-slice images of internal structures and organs.
Dr. Michael Schmidt — who runs the Grand Haven hospital's Medical Imaging Department with Dr. Jeffrey Stuk in a partnership called Envision Radiology PLLC — said the new scanner is less invasive, produces less radiation, and can detect problems in a patient's arteries and heart that doctors have never been able to see before. Schmidt said the new scanner will be able to take fine-detail pictures of arteries inside someone down to just a few millimeters in size, and it could save them from having to go through a cardiac catheterization or even heart surgery.
"It will allow us to do studies no one on the Lakeshore is able to do," he added.
Schmidt and Stuk also use a computerized bone-density scanning device that helps them evaluate patients who might be at risk for breaks, and better monitors treatment for such ailments as osteoporosis.
In the department's Breast Evaluation Center, Schmidt said there two "cutting-edge" devices that can't be found at most other hospitals in the region.
The $85,000 breast MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) computer system helps the doctors better manipulate and analyze images, better detect problems earlier, and helps them distinguish between normal and abnormal tissue. Without the system, Schmidt said, they could miss cancer that's growing very slowly.
"The breast MRI gives us another tool to detect breast cancer early, especially with women who have a family history of breast cancer," Schmidt said.
The NOCH radiologists are also connected to what Schmidt calls "a world-class radiologist" in Cincinnati who will provide a second opinion on their studies.
"It gives patients at NOCH confidence that they are getting top-notch world-class interpretations," Schmidt said.
Last summer, the department added a vacuum-assisted biopsy device to the Breast Evaluation Center. This relatively new device offers a less-invasive approach for women with a probably benign mass, Schmidt explained, by removing multiple tissue samples with a single small insertion into the breast — often replacing the need for invasive surgery just to obtain tissue samples for diagnosis.
The women's center is accredited by the American College of Radiology, which requires annual renewals to meet its "very strict standards," Schmidt said.
Schmidt is originally from Indianapolis. He trained at the Indiana University School of Medicine and served a fellowship in interventional radiology at Yale University. Stuk is a Michigan State University graduate and served a fellowship in emergency radiology at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.
"We kind of have our own niches," Schmidt said. "(Stuk) specializes in higher-end diagnostic imaging and I enjoy the interventional cases — biopsies, drainages, angiography and angioplasty."
Both Schmidt and Stuk have been practicing in West Michigan for several years prior to becoming exclusive to NOCH. They formed Envision Radiology PLLC late last year.
"This hospital expressed interest in wanting to have the latest techniques, which is how Jeff and I define our interests," Schmidt said. "The hospital is willing to buy the tools to allow us to do our trade, and we're very excited about that."
On the Net:
www.noch.org/catscan.html
