This has got to be the most expensive and longest PM of all time.
In order to get their Gamma Knife operating, Wesley Medical Center in Whichita, Kansas needs to get a refill of its COBALT supply.
In order to replace the COBALT, Wesley Medical is flying in Swedish technicians to replace the COBALT which will take four weeks to complete. And thats not all, Wesley Medical must also coordinate the PM with the Deptarment of Homeland Security to transport the COBOLR radioactive material.
From Wichita Business Journal:
Wesley Medical Center on Monday started an $800,000 project to reload the radioactive material surrounding its neurosurgery equipment.
Over the next four weeks, a company from Sweden will be coordinating the cobalt reload of Wesley’s Gamma Knife, one of 28 in the country, which the hospital claims and has become the gold standard for neurosurgery on brain tumors. The Gamma Knife, which debuted in 2003, has depleted its source of cobalt, Wesley says.
The cobalt, which becomes radioactive after being placed in a nuclear reactor, is contained in a 40-thousand-pound leak-proof lead cask and has been deemed safe for patients, residents and visitors.
“This is the first time the radioactive material will be replaced in the surgical device, and it’s quite a process,” said Gamma Knife nurse manager Julie Anderson, in a written statement.
To accommodate the procedure, Wesley had to build a platform, take out a portion of a hospital wall and shut down the unit for a month to gauge and test for correct cobalt levels.
Wesley says the route of the truck that delivered the radioactive material was kept secret because of Homeland Security concerns.
Biz Journal via Medgadget
Be The First To Comment
Sorry the comment area are closed