A.O. Fox Hospital Installs Major Upgrades to Medical Imaging Equipment in Oneonta and Sidney

A.O. Fox Hospital, part of Bassett Healthcare Network, recently installed significant upgrades to several pieces of medical imaging equipment in Oneonta and Sidney that are improving image quality, lessening scan times, and increasing patient comfort in emergency and outpatient settings.

“Medical Imaging is a critical component of diagnosis for many patients, especially with emergency care,” says Reginald Knight, MD, MHA, senior vice president and chief physician executive for Bassett Healthcare Network. “When every minute counts, our communities can depend on the most advanced and reliable equipment in our facilities across the network to diagnose and treat patients quickly and safely.”

A.O. Fox Hospital in Oneonta has upgraded its medical resonance imaging (MRI) with state-of-the-art technology that is achieving more exact image clarity and greatly reducing scan times, creating a more comfortable and efficient experience for patients. MRIs reveal life-saving information by illuminating the body’s soft tissue system, smartly differentiating between fat, water, muscle, and other bodily elements on screen. Tests are often performed to help clinicians examine abnormalities of the brain and spinal cord; issues with the breasts, prostate, or liver; joint injuries; the heart’s function; blood flow through vessels and arteries, and more. The highly detailed nature of the test has historically made MRI examinations longer and more uncomfortable. With A.O. Fox Hospital’s new MRI equipment, these inconveniences are improved for patients as they receive potentially critical diagnostic information.

In addition to new MRI technology, A.O. Fox Hospital has also received a new post-processing workstation that offers the capability to transform digital images into high-detailed 3D imaging. “This is top of the line technology,” says Peter Burghardt, manager of Imaging Services for the southern region of Bassett Healthcare Network. “3D images are a step up and provide exceptional information to radiologists. Much like turning the pages of a book, 3D medical imaging captures offer more layers to read and give us a remarkably accurate story.”

Both A.O. Fox Hospital and Fox’s Tri-Town Campus in Sidney have received major upgrades to CT equipment, decreasing scan times, improving image quality, lessening radiation exposure, and reducing inadvertent image captures of artifacts from metallic implants like joint replacements. The heightened image quality will increase a patient care team’s ability to perform procedures like cardiac angiographies – where a physician looks at a patient’s arteries to look for blockages – and detecting pulmonary embolisms, blood clots that travel to the lungs.

“For A.O. Fox’s Tri-Town Campus, an emergency care facility that serves the entire tri-county region from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily – including the communities of Sidney, Unadilla, and Bainbridge – these equipment upgrades are critical as we are frequently the first point of care for patients in this area,” says Burghardt.

In spring of 2020, A.O. Fox’s Tri-Town Campus transitioned to a daytime emergency service model to better accommodate the needs of its surrounding communities. “With a daytime operating structure in place, we have been better able to allocate resources towards services and technology that Sidney and its immediate areas need the most,” says Burghardt. “State-of-the-art medical imaging equipment is at the top of the list.”