Radiation levels during X-ray procedures at Gnaden Huetten Memorial Hospital in Lehighton are decreasing thanks to new equipment unveiled last week.

Blue Mountain Health System cut the ribbon on a new radiography and fluoroscopy room with $400,000 worth of updated technology.Doctors said the equipment not only reduces radiation levels but also cuts down the wait time for X-ray results."Radiation has been shown to have damaging effects in large doses," said Dr. Joseph Zacher, Blue Mountain Health Systems chief of radiology. "We want to decrease that as much as possible. With the high-quality images this equipment gives us, it increases the chance we won't have to repeat a study."A pediatric mode will also reduce radiation levels to children."Children are our greatest concern," Zacher said. "If we can reduce the amount of radiation they get from a young age, the better off they will be."The equipment is already in use and open to all patients whether it is an emergency room, outpatient or inpatient procedure, according to Heather Boyle, X-ray technologist."We're also working on implementing this at our campus in Palmerton," Boyle said. "We want patients to know they can get this state-of-the-art service right here. They don't have to go to Allentown."Gnaden Huetten's new portable unit allows staff to view digital images within seconds of a scan."In the past, doctors had to wait around 10-15 minutes for an image to be processed in the X-ray department," Zacher said."With digital images, we can instantly analyze results or tell if a patient moved while on the table, requiring a second scan. It reduces the amount of time they have to be on the table."The new fluoroscopy equipment can be used for procedures including small bowel tests, video swallows, arthrograms and hysterosalpingograms, among other exams.Staff have been trained on how to use certain features of the new equipment, but Boyle said the procedures are nothing new."We were already doing a lot of the things we can do with this equipment, but now we can do them better," she said.One area still on the horizon for the Lehighton and Palmerton campuses is a digital subtraction angiography package."This allows us to look at vascular vessels in patients and do vascular studies," Zacher said."We have some surgeons who are interested in starting a program here. With the new machine, we can do that kind of procedure here in a safe fashion."