Special facilities / medical equipment
- Own dispensary which supplies other hospitals as well
- Human blood bank
- Semi-inpatient treatment places for dialysis
- Heliport
- Social service
- Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
New, gentle methods of treatment often make interventions on an outpatient basis possible today that required a longer inpatient stay in former times. Modern medical technology contributes to diagnosis and treatment significantly. We cannot give you a comprehensive overview over all the technologies used in our hospital. However, some examples may show you how modern technology serves your health and well-being.
Linear accelerator
This modern radiation device helps with the targeted bombardment of every tumour in the human body. By using complex radiation techniques which often require a multitude of single areas of bombardment the required dose of radiation can be perfectly applied to the target volume while sparing unaffected tissue. This procedure has been optimised by the installation of a multileaf-collimator; undesired side-effects have been reduced to a minimum.
Computed tomography (CT),
Spiral computed tomography (SCT)
These examinations help to obtain data scans of the head, the torso as well as the upper and lower limbs. With computed tomography images are generated from successive pictures of single slices of the respective organ, whereas with spiral computed tomography three-dimensional reconstructions of the pictures taken are possible. Thus, even the smallest focuses of diseases can be detected and localised exactly. Using computed tomography it is also possible to insert thin cannulae or catheters into the body, e.g. for the withdrawal of specimen, the removal of pathological liquids or the administration of painkillers of anti-inflammatory substances.
Magnetic resonance imaging
Magnetic resonance imaging is one of the latest diagnostic methods, and provides high-resolution images of the human body without using gamma rays. These images are generated using a huge magnet and an antenna for the transmitting and receiving of radio waves. MRI provides three-dimensional images without the patient having to be moved.
Digital subtraction angiography (DSA)
This is a specific x-ray examination of arteries and veins with contrast agents which are administered via small catheters. By subtracting pre-contrast images from the images with contrast medium an image of the respective vessel is obtained that features no disruptive superimpositions. The method is applied most frequently with examinations of cerebral and carotid vessels, abdominal and renal vessels, pelvic vessels as well as vessels in the legs and the arms. The mentioned examinations mainly serve the purpose of diagnosis of vascular constriction or occlusion, vascular anomalies, pathological vessels in case of tumourous or inflammatory diseases, dysfunction with haemodialysis shunts, and monitoring after the surgical and interventional treatment of vascular diseases.
Radiological interventions
These are ultrasonography- or roentgen-controlled (x-ray, CT), minimal-invasive interventions for the detection and treatment of diseases in almost every bodily region. They can substitute surgical procedures or establish better conditions for them. Moreover, they do not require total anaesthesia. Out of more than a hundred different interventions the best-known are the treatment of vascular constrictions or occlusions with balloon catheters and stents, the drainage of abscesses and other pathological accumulations of liquid, as well as regional (CT-controlled) pain therapy, e.g. of the radices (periradicular therapy), the facet joints and iliosacral joints.
Scintiscanning, SPECT, PET
With these examinations smallest amounts of low-level radioactive substances are injected and get to the organs via the blood. The temporal as well as the spatial distribution of these radiopharmaceuticals can be recorded and analysed by gamma cameras, and allows the assessment of the condition and operativeness of the examined regions and organs. The most frequently performed scintiscans are scans of bones and joints, the thyroid gland, the brain, the heart, the lungs, the liver, the kidneys and pararenal glands. Often scans are performed to clarify sources of inner bleeding, also. These examinations are often complemented by tomographic procedures (single photon emission computed tomography SPECT) to make an exact spatial visualisation with three-dimensional reconstructions possible. The costly positron emission tomography (PET) makes the direct visualisation of tumour tissue possible which is why this examination method is of particular importance for the diagnosis and evaluation of the course of tumour diseases. However, it is also applied for brain and heart diagnostics, because it makes the clear distinction between dead and scarred tissue on the one hand and living and operative cardiac muscle on the other possible – which can be crucial for bypass operations.
Ultrasonography
Ultrasonography is a medical imaging technique that uses ultrasound for the visualisation of certain structures in the human body. It is neither harmful nor causes it any discomfort to the patient. Ultrasonography is most frequently used for the examination of abdominal organs, the thyroid gland, joints, the musculature, the breast as well as larger vessels. Some organs, e.g. the gall bladder, can be examined better using ultrasonography than using x-rays. Ultrasonography is particularly suitable for the monitoring of the course of a disease.
Echocardiography and left cardiac catheter measuring station see clinical medicine.
