French Hospital Medical Center’s San Luis Diagnostic Center Installs Advanced PET/CT Imaging System

SAN LUIS OBISPO, CA – November 1, 2021 – French Hospital Medical Center (FHMC) today announced the installation of a new PET/CT system at its San Luis Diagnostic Center facility to better meet the needs of clinicians and patients. 

“Our mission is to serve our patients through high-quality care,” explained Fred Vernacchia, M.D., Medical Director at San Luis Diagnostic Center. “Our new GE Discovery PET/CT system will help us achieve this goal, offering data and insights unavailable with other imaging devices and previously only found at academic institutions.”

PET/CT scans are used in cardiology, oncology, and other specialties to identify physiologic and metabolic changes; however, it is cancer care that is the workhorse of PET/CT. “Our new GE PET/CT system will enable superior patient care and expand our tools against cancer,” according to Vernacchia.

This unique tool shows changes at the cellular and molecular levels, helping clinicians diagnose disease in its early stages and monitor patients’ response to therapy. “PET imaging allows us to easily and accurately track the progression or recession of disease over time and quickly determine if a patient’s prescribed treatment is working,” said Vernacchia. 

Vernacchia further explained, “The use of new radiopharmaceuticals will expand the types of exams that we can offer. In addition, with this superior technology patients will experience a more comfortable exam requiring only one-third the time compared to other PET/CT systems on the Central Coast.”

GE Healthcare’s Discovery MI DR brings together sensitivity with innovative reconstruction technology, resulting in outstanding resolution to improve the detection of small lesions. 

“We are proud to see our technology is used to help improve the lives of clinicians and patients at San Luis Diagnostic Center,” said Jamie McCoy, General Manager of Global PET, GE Healthcare. “We remain dedicated to pushing the boundaries of what is possible with Molecular Imaging, so clinicians have the tools and quantitative data they need to make more confident and accurate diagnoses for their patients.”

For more information on GE Healthcare’s PET portfolio, visit www.gehealthcare.com. 

About French Hospital Medical Center

French Hospital Medical Center is a state-of-the-art, 112-bed acute care hospital located in San Luis Obispo, California. French’s Oppenheimer Family Center for Emergency Medicine is the area’s most advanced emergency services center. The modern facility is home to the Copeland, Forbes, and Rossi Cardiac Care Center, is the county’s premier cardiac center, providing the latest cardiac and imaging technology, and the Hearst Cancer Resource Center offering free education, resources and support to cancer patients and their families. 

French Hospital Medical Center together with Arroyo Grande Community Hospital in Arroyo Grande, and Marian Regional Medical Center in Santa Maria, make up Dignity Health Central Coast, a network of hospitals, physicians, and outpatient services including physician offices, ambulatory surgery centers, technologically-advanced laboratories and imaging centers, and a full service home health agency.