Procedures and Services
Learn more about the procedures and services offered at Miami Valley Hospital (MVH).
24-hour Imaging
With radiologists and technologists available around the clock, ER and Trauma can get scans and have them read at any time. Being a 24-hour facility turn-around time can be sped up for getting scan results to physicians. This is Dayton's only facility that offers 24-hour coverage of radiologists.
General radiology, CT, ultrasound, and vascular ultrasound are 24/7. MRI is 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., with staff on call for emergencies. Nuclear medicine is 24 hours a day, six days a week. This covers all but Saturday night, when staff is on call. Night Hawk Radiology is on call for supplemental radiologist support if needed.
Mammography Advances
MVH has all-digital mammography. Mammography is still the only approved screening procedure for breast cancer. Digital mammography is a powerful tool that can be used for both accurate and early detection.
In addition to tumors and cysts, radiologists look for micro-calcifications inside the breast. These are only about 1/10th of a millimeter in size. In the days of film, a physician had to examine an x-ray under a magnifying glass in an effort to spot these. At MVH today, x-rays taken with digital x-ray can easily be magnified on the monitor and the images reversed to show black as white and vice versa. This allows radiologists closer inspection and often earlier detection of breast cancer.
If further views are required or breast cancer is detected by biopsy, more advanced scanning is called on, including PET, CT, MRI, ultrasounds, and nuclear medicine.
Epic and PACS
Epic medical software and PACS (Picture Archiving and Communicating System) give physicians instant access to scans from any computer with a Web browser. This gives them access to current images, as well as any image in the PACS system since MVH started it in 2002. PACS links to all five off-site centers as well as Good Samaritan Hospital (Dayton) and Atrium Medical Center (Middletown). Physicians have access to any scan done at a PHP facility. ACS images are available from within Epic.
Three Components of Effective Imaging
The MVH formula for effective imaging has three components:
- A skilled technologist doing the scan
- A skilled radiologist viewing the results
- Cutting-edge equipment to get the most accurate and revealing scan possible
MVH is not only the leader in the number of scans done in the area, but we also use unique tools and perform unique procedures.