Hawarden Community Hospital (HCH) has recently upgraded its radiology department.  In July we installed a CT, August a CR and in October a PACS.  Enough acronyms?  You probably have heard of CT (or cat scan).  It is pictured in the top left corner of this page.  On the left is a CT of the sinuses.  CR replaces the x-ray film developer and instead of film, creates a digital image of an x-ray.  Most other radiology services such as CT, MRI and ultrasound create digital images automatically. 

PACS stands for Picture Archiving and Communications System.  It is the hardware and software that allows us to store, retrieve and electronically send (like and e-mail) digital images.  Pretty cool stuff.

We also have 24 hour emergency radiology coverage.  So if you come in with a head inujury in the middle of the night, the staff can take a CT or x-ray and the physician will have a radiologist's report within 20 to 30 minutes.