In an exciting collaboration with Gloucestershire Hospitals, local charity Cobalt is supporting the funding of a new state of the art high-definition CT scanner by launching the Heart Mind & Body Scanner Appeal.

With the potential to revolutionise the diagnosis and initial treatment of cardiac, stroke and oncology patients from Gloucestershire and the wider area, Gloucestershire Hospitals will become one of only a small handful of providers in the country to have such an advanced piece of technology.

The provision of this scanner will enable the Trust to provide a new service for patients, offering more complex CT (Computerised Tomography) examinations, including detailed scans of the heart.  A number of these patients presently have to travel out of the region for a diagnosis.

Cobalt is now calling for support from the community; individuals, companies and their staff, schools, organisations and groups. 

Lead and Consultant Radiologist Dr Garrett McGann is one of only four radiologists in the South West who has attained the accreditation necessary to teach cardiac CT scanning. He said: “We are grateful to Cobalt for their support, making this possible. Provision of the multi-slice CT scanner would enable trainees to gain valuable experience in this technique and provide many opportunities to develop research projects focusing on the use of cardiac CT.”

Chief Executive of Gloucestershire Hospitals Trust, Dr Frank Harsent said: “Gloucestershire Hospitals is gaining an excellent reputation for our work to diagnose and treat cardiac and lung diseases.  By working in partnership with Cobalt we can raise enough money to ensure we offer our patients in Gloucestershire faster diagnosis and treatment.”

To find out more about the appeal go to www.scannerappeal.com