The nuclear medicine department of the Charing Cross Hospital has recently renewed its PET Scan
equipment with the installation of the new automatic dispensing and infusion system for radiopharmaceuticals, KARL100 and Rad-Inject.
Today we are going to London to meet Luis Alves, PET Modality Lead at Charing Cross Hospital, and his team for the installation and commissioning of KARL100 and Rad-Inject. The system will be used mainly for the dispensing and infusion of radiopharmaceuticals for PET diagnostic tests; the department aims at increasing the number of patients treated daily, while improving the safety of the operators involved, and supplying a better service.
In detail, as explained by Luis Alves, whom we asked about their user experience, after the installation of KARL100 the risk of radiation exposure for the operators of the department was virtually written off.
“We manage twenty patients a day with four Healthcare Technicians. This means each technician performs 5 injections a day, which brought us very close to the permitted level for radiation exposure. With the installation of KARL100 we managed to keep the exposure level at an absolute minimum, or less, thanks to the automatic perforation of the vial and opening of the Leadpot. KARL100 will allow us to expand the service, and treat more patients without jeopardizing the safety of our staff”.
Among the most convincing features for Charing Cross Hospital Team is the chance for a remote infusion of the radiopharmaceutical, managed via the Rad-Inject automatic injector. This option, in addition to allowing multiple simultaneous infusions for the treatment of multiple patients at the same time through a single unit, remarkably simplifies the workflow, as Luis Alves says:
“Carrying out the infusion by using portable shielded 1kg syringes makes the process time-effective compared to either having a trolley to move, or bring patients to a specific area for the injection”.
Moreover, the patients are definitely more satisfied since they’re more likely to accept such a small device like the Rad-Inject with greater peace of mind.
We are delighted to have helped Charing Cross Hospital’s Imaging Department, together with our local partner LabLogic, to make everyday work easier and safer. Special thanks to George Hunter, LabLogic Product Specialist, who personally supervised the installation.
