The CT machine will prevent Lithgow residents from having to travel to get scans done.

The machine will now take 128 slices at .625 millimetre thickness and create a 3D scan. 

The machine does a range of tests that haven’t been available at Lithgow hospital before. 

“Say someone had a headache we can now do a scan and create a 3D image of their brain and test for vascular malformations,” chief radiographer Michelle Bostock said. 

The machine can test anyone of any age and go from head to toe and can take bone, soft tissue, organ and blood vessel scans. 

The new CT machine has also cut the dosage of radiation in half which is “significant for patients who need multiple scans”. 

The machine is connected to Sydney so high resolution scans can be sent to specialists and they can contact Lithgow hospital with results, saving residents from having to travel to get their results. 

“We really wanted to prevent more travel because Lithgow residents travel enough,” Lithgow Hospital general manager Jill Marjoram said. 

“If we’re sure patients need to go to Sydney then they will but for now they don’t need to go to Bathurst, Orange or Penrith to receive their results,” she said. 

Reports from the machine are much more timely with same day results generally taking four hours for routine cases. 

If in an after hours emergency or urgent case reports can be done quicker and take up to 20 minutes. 

Chief radiographer Michelle Bostock says that the waiting times will be reduced as they will be able to see 30 plus people per day. 

“The imaging is now more precise, quicker and better quality,” she said. 

The hospital will now be able to do more intervention procedures, as they use to do six a day but are now hoping to up that to nine. 

This expansion will see 27 intervention procedures a week and 90 routine scans. 

“The technology is just amazing and it is a really exciting time for Lithgow hospital,” Mrs Marjoram said.