A Cardiac MRI service provided by Logan Hospital's Medical Imaging Department (MID) is gaining national attention due to its rarity in public hospitals.
Over the past decade, the MID team has seen an influx of complex cases referred to the hospital from all over the state and as far afield as Norfolk Island.
Logan Hospital is one of the select few public health facilities in the state to offer this cutting-edge diagnostic imaging which the team said improved patients’ access to high-quality services at a fraction of the cost of a private clinic.
Senior Radiographer Rebecca Griffin said the increase in referrals to the service, which was directly supervised by experienced cardiologist A/Professor Arun Dahiya, reflected the MID team’s commitment to excellence in patient care and innovation in cardiac diagnosis.
Rebecca explained a cardiac MRI was a detailed imaging test used by doctors to understand and evaluate a patient's symptoms, as well as to assess the condition of the heart, especially after surgeries or for congenital heart issues.
She said developments in techniques and software allowed for more extensive analysis of raw data helping to categorise cardiac events, determine disease severity, and assess tissue health.
Rebecca, who said she enjoyed the complexity of cardiac MRI, has been undertaking a research project on rapid cardiac imaging that could result in patients having their cardiac MRI scan sooner.
“Cardiac scans usually take one to 1.5 hours, and patients are required to hold their breath and remain still to acquire quality images which can be problematic for patients with claustrophobia, larger patients or patients who have pain,” she said.
“The scan length time also contributes to substantial wait lists for the procedure. The current research project focuses on increasing throughput and access for patients and involves reduced MRI scan times and sequences to assist in ruling out major diseases or monitoring specific conditions.”
Rebecca said cardiac MRI made a critical difference in managing the conditions of patients with congenital abnormalities and in emergency situations, and while there were endless more research opportunities to investigate, projects affecting patient-centred care came first.
“Patients are already experiencing the benefits of the current cardiac research project and we cannot wait to publish the findings later this year.”
In recent years, the Logan MID team has conducted significant research projects, presenting their findings internationally and showcasing the high-quality services offered by the hospital.
Rebecca said her team’s research findings from 2020 directly contributed to enhanced diagnostic capabilities for patients at Logan Hospital.
“Our team unveiled significant research on the application of cardiac MRI in managing patients with arrhythmia, particularly focusing on ventricular arrhythmias. We discovered that the use of contrast-enhanced cardiac MRI is pivotal, not only for identifying arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy but also for diagnosing conditions that mimic it, such as sarcoidosis,” Rebecca said.
“This research was recognised at a major cardiac MRI conference in the United States and since then, multi-parametric contrast cardiac MRI has been integrated into our routine clinical practice.”
The MID team said they looked forward to ongoing collaboration with the cardiology department as their cardiac service continued to evolve and expand.
“A/Prof Dahiya has invested heavily in continuing education and feedback sessions for the cardiac MRI Radiographers.
This helps ensure the services we offer are optimal and cutting-edge and allows more patients local access to outstanding cardiac care,” Rebecca said.
She said she hoped that in the not-too-distant future she, her team leader and their director could find solutions to shorten wait times, ensuring patients received more timely care.
“I look forward to implementing proven new strategies and to facilitating increasing capacity to successfully image complex patients, including those with implanted cardiac devices.”