The Gauteng Department of Health has ordered 12 digital radiography systems from low-radiation device company Lodox worth R60-million, Economic Development Minister Ebrahim Patel announced during the Africa Health Expo, held last month at Gallagher Estate, in Midrand.
The Minister said that nine hospitals – New Natalspruit Hospital, Dr George Mukhari Hospital, Steve Biko Academic Hospital, Tembisa Hospital, Helen Joseph Hospital, Tambo Memorial Hospital, Sebokeng Hospital, Kalafong Hospital and Leratong Hospital – would receive the Lodox systems.
Three pathology facilities – Pretoria Forensic Pathology, Johannesburg Forensic Pathology and Ga-Rankuwa Forensic Pathology – will receive the Lodox system.
“The Lodox System provides an X-ray image of the entire body in 13 seconds and a full-body-imaging study in two planes in three to five minutes. “This is beneficial for medical practitioners as the speedy results of the scan allow for doctors to perform an operation on a patient speedily, which reduces the time needed when a skeletal scan has to be taken,” he said.
The Lodox system can be used without having a specialised radiology section in place, as the system can be used the moment a trauma patient gets to the hospital.
Patel stated that the Lodox system was locally manufactured – mining company De Beers Diamonds had originally used it to scan workers for any theft of diamonds.
He added that, as 70% of the systems had been exported, this was indicative of South Africa’s technological advancement meeting world standards, as about 30 hospitals worldwide were using the systems.
Patel said the system owed its success and technological advancement to State-owned industrial bank the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), which invested in the technology when it was at the engineering and development stages. The IDC has expanded its shareholding in the system to 94%, which is worth R200-million.
This proved the importance of technological advancement for the country and the IDC, as it was prepared to support innovative and technological ideas and take them to market and commercialise them, while creating sustainable devel- opment for the country, Patel pointed out.
Using the system decreased costs of expanding medical care, he noted, with Lodox having calculated that, over a five-year period, each system would save R8-million of the normal operating costs, compared with similar units in the healthcare indus- try used for similar tasks.
As a result, the IDC is currently sponsoring a pilot project of three Lodox systems in Gauteng, through which it aims to demonstrate the system further to encourage more interest from the health sector.