In recognition of the World Radiography Day, the Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) is spreading awareness about the important role of radiography in medicine.
Al Wakrah Hospital Radiology Department head Dr Mahmoud Heidous said that the hospital offers the most advanced diagnostic radiography equipment and is providing a service that residents of Al Wakrah and the surrounding communities previously had to travel to Doha for.
“Since the beginning of this year, the Radiology Department at Al Wakrah Hospital has served more than 20,000 patients,” Dr Heidous said.
He stated that radiographers are an important part of the healthcare team because imaging radiography allows for high accuracy and precision in both diagnosis and treatment plans.
“Many people don’t know what a radiographer does. If you have an accident and go to the hospital, chances are that you will see a diagnostic radiographer. They produce images that are used to diagnose injury or disease. Radiography is also used therapeutically during image-guided, minimal invasive procedures, like biopsies and giving injections for nerve blocking in the spine and joints,” Dr Heidous explained.
Diagnostic radiology includes X-rays that provides images of the bones, ultrasound to monitor unborn babies and diagnose problems in organs, like the liver, fluoroscopy to check the digestive system, CT scans to create cross-sectional images of the bones and soft tissue in the body, MRI to build a 2D or 3D map of the body’s tissue, and angiography, which takes images of blood vessels.
Radiotherapy is also used to treat cancer, which is a special treatment available at HMC’s National Centre for Cancer Care and Research.
“Here at Al Wakrah Hospital, we have the most advanced diagnostic radiography equipment to meet the needs of the growing population. Our services have reduced the waiting time for children requiring anesthesia during MRI by taking cases from Hamad General Hospital’s long waiting list,” Dr Heidous said.
Al Wakrah Hospital is also planning to provide mammography services for breast cancer screening in the near future.
“We have all the facilities and we are in the process of increasing our manpower. Our plans to further expand and recruit more healthcare professionals will further support our goal of meeting the needs of the population in the future,” he added.
World Radiography Day is celebrated every year on November 8 to mark the anniversary of the discovery of X-rays by Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen in 1895.
Radiologists around the world recognise the day by raising awareness about radiographic imaging and therapy.