Medical Imaging Transformed Through Local Philanthropy

In 2024, when Amy Maessen was anticipating her first day of work at Langley Memorial Hospital, she knew she would face some obstacles.

“I heard some of Langley’s equipment was good,” says Amy, Medical Imaging Site Coordinator at Langley Memorial Hospital (LMH) and Langley Medical Imaging Clinic. “But I already knew the X-ray machines were so old they were difficult to work with.”

As it turned out, she got a taste of those difficulties in her first year.

Langley Memorial has long relied on two X-ray machines, which together process more than 4,600 procedures monthly. However, the newest of these two machines was installed in 2009 and has been used far past its standard 10-year lifespan. Over time, the ripple effects of consistent daily use have become debilitating. Technologists have dealt with incomplete or unclear images, long waits among patients while machines are being repaired and aging equipment that frustrates patients and technologists alike.

But there’s a silver lining for LMH’s Medical Imaging unit, thanks to the community’s philanthropic spirit. With the pending arrival of new X-ray machines, donor generosity has dramatically evolved LMH’s capacity for Medical Imaging.

Medical Imaging: A Five-Year Transformation
Donor support has funded a new MRI Suite, a portable C-arm, ultrasound machines, a mammography unit and X-rays to revitalize imaging procedures across the hospital. The department has already received significant upgrades - two of its three ultrasound machines have been replaced thanks to donors, who’ve also helped fund a new mini C-arm.

LCHHF has seen an outpouring of community support for imaging equipment over the last five years.

State-of-the-art imaging tools - whether it’s ultrasound, the MRI, or mammography - are huge attractions to technologists and sonographers and helpful in recruiting qualified professionals at a time they’re needed most, says Tammy Karoway, Clinical Planner for Fraser Health.

LMH’s first ever MRI machine, which became fully operational in January 2021, was installed to provide more than 7,500 MRI exams annually, operating 16 hours a day, seven days a week.

For the first time, patients were able to stay close to home for scans of the head, chest, pelvis and abdomen and specialized breast imaging exams. Within two years, LMH technologists and radiologists had overseen more than 8,040 patient scans on the MRI.

Donors also replaced one echocardiography machine with two new ones and supported a renovation to the echocardiography rooms.

Two years later, in 2023, donor giving supported the purchase of a new GE Logiq Q10 Ultrasound machine, a welcome addition for technologists struggling to keep up with high demand.

Just a year later, thanks to an anonymous donor, LMH’s mammography screening program got a tremendous boost with a $700,00 donation to replace its outdated machine with a new, state-of-the-art mammography unit. Once installed, this new machine will allow women to access diagnostic mammography, or tomosynthesis, which captures images in layers to help differentiate tissues, useful in scans of patients with dense breasts.

In 2024, Langley Donors Step Up to Transform Diagnostic Care
During the Foundation’s first annual Sports Injury Month in September 2024, many of Langley’s sports teams and venues came together to raise more than $50,000 for the new X-ray machines through donations of ticket sales portions, 50/50 draws and other fundraising efforts.

On November 2, the Foundation hosted the Electric Gala, its 33rd annual signature event, where 344 guests raised funds as part of a $1.1 million campaign to replace the two aging X-ray machines.

The technology of the new X-ray machines will offer improved image quality and resolution, replacing the 15-year-old machines currently in use. The upgraded machines will also reduce patients’ exposure to radiation - a crucial improvement for cancer patients and those with chronic illnesses who require frequent X-rays.

“The staff are looking forward to new technology and potentially being able to recruit and retain new staff because the equipment is modern,” Amy says. “The image quality will be improved with reduced downtime.”

The impact of advanced tech in imaging, including machines that operate reliably, can’t be underestimated, explains Tammy. Tammy also spent more than a decade in Amy’s role in LMH Medical Imaging.

“When [imaging] machines are down, that impacts the technologist, because now they’re trying to push everything through one room, and that means patients are waiting longer.

“Patients get frustrated. The staff get frustrated. We have had staff leave because they are tired of getting hurt working with old, broken equipment.”