Montfort Hospital sets sights on advanced heart scanner

Ottawa's Montfort Hospital wants to become the first health facility in the region to buy an advanced scanner to diagnose heart-related diseases.

The hospital already has a machine for CT scans, but the model it hopes to acquire by the end of the year is more advanced.

According to Dr. Andr Olivier, a radiologist and chief ofMontfort'sDepartment of Diagnostic Imaging,the new equipment will allow for faster and less-invasive testing thantraditional methodssuch as stress tests.

''There's also angiography, where we insert a catheter inside blood vessels,'' he said. ''It's not only a matter of pain, but also of potential complications.''

Oliver said the new scanner will also act as a backup if there is a problem with the current unit, since it can perform all of the duties of a normal scanner.

The Montfort Hospital Foundation is hoping to raise $2.5 million to buy the machine.