SIH Memorial Hospital of Carbondale Auxiliary Donates $50,000 for Stroke Technology

SIH Brain and Spine Institute will add a key piece of technology to their capabilities inside the hospital and in their outpatient clinic, thanks to a generous donation from the SIH Memorial Hospital of Carbondale Auxiliary.

The gift to the SIH Foundation funds a transcranial doppler for the neurosciences program. The transcranial doppler is a non-invasive ultrasound device which allows physicians to see blood vessels inside the brain to assess damage from stroke, aneurysm or other types of head trauma.

With the use of the transcranial doppler, neurologists can quickly and reliably determine if there is a problem with the blood vessels and pressure in the brain, explained Dr. Jonatan Hornik. This means patients won't need to be transferred outside of the region for this specific test, greatly expanding our local capabilities.

"It helps to reveal and prevent serious complications that can occur in patients with brain bleed and head trauma. It also helps with evaluating problems of high pressure in the brain in certain patients who are confused or experience headaches. In the community, transcranial doppler will also be used to help patients with sickle cell disease determine who is at risk of having a stroke in the near future and guide treatment to prevent it," added Dr. Hornik.

The MHC Auxiliary funds their major gifts through sales at the Pink Geranium gift shop and other auxiliary and volunteer-related fundraisers throughout the year.

The imaging agent, Cysview is instilled into the bladder about an hour before the procedure. Any cancerous cells uptake the medication which in turn makes the tumor cells glow bright pink in the blue light when the cystoscopy is performed.

“Before, you were relying on the physicians trained eye only to identify the areas in question,” Quillman said. “This is much more definitive.”

“Traditional white light cystoscopy for bladder tumor detection, evaluation and surveillance is based on systematic mapping of the bladder lining, along with biopsies. With Blue Light, we are able to more precisely deploy the map to target areas of suspicion, resulting in higher sensitivity and specificity,” said Dr. Stokes.

Patients who may be candidates for Blue Light are identified in their urologist’s office. It could be someone who has already been diagnosed with bladder cancer or a patient with bleeding issues that are causing concerns.

The outpatient procedure is covered by most insurance plans. Patients who want to learn more should contact their urologist.

While Blue Light has been used in more than 500,000 patients worldwide—the closest facilities to Murphysboro using the technology are in St. Louis, Missouri and Evansville, Indiana.

“We are able to offer novel and cutting-edge technologies locally and reduce the need for our patients to travel out of the region,” Dr. Stokes said.