Beatrice Community Hospital and Health Center has purchased an advanced cardiovascular Ultrasound system to ensure patients have the highest quality testing service available for diagnosing heart disease.

The GE Healthcare Vivid E9 echocardiography scanner gives clinicians a view of a patient's heart along with the ability to take specialized measurements of the heart's function.

With this new equipment, Beatrice Community Hospital brings increased benefits to the community by offering physicians the ability to detect and diagnose subtle heart conditions. The increased capabilities of the Vivid E9 can help physicians better diagnose and treat their cardiovascular patients, enhancing diagnostic confidence for the entire care team.

"The advanced features of the new machine, including the clear, crisp image quality, should shorten exam time of an echocardiogram and increase the diagnostic information obtained from each patient," Amy Sue White, registered respiratory therapist and cardiac sonographer for the hospital, said.

The addition of the Vivid E9 allows the hospital to perform a number of enhanced clinical tests, according to White, including:

• Measuring Heart Synchronization - Measurements can be made to understand if the heart is pumping with the correct rhythm. This information is important in understanding heart function and is useful when patients are being evaluated for pacemaker surgery.
• Detecting heart wall abnormalitiesp -- Proper motion of the heart wall is an important indicator of heart function and the Vivid E9 incorporates special tools for the cardiologist to "grade" a patient’s heart wall motion, providing guidance in treatment and follow up with the patient.

BCHHC has seen the use of echocardiograms to diagnose heart conditions grow over the past few years.

"We are proud to say we have the latest technology available," said Keith Luedders, director of the BCHHC Cardiopulmonary Department. "This technology benefits the physicians, our patients and their families. We are very pleased to be able to bring this technology to Beatrice and Southeast Nebraska."