INUVIK - Patients in the Beaufort Delta will benefit from improved diagnostic services at the Inuvik Regional Hospital thanks to a new ultrasound machine.

Technologists at the hopsital training on the new machine, touted to produce clearer images.

Marion MacInnis, chief technologist in diagnostic imaging at the Inuvik Regional Hospital, has worked at the hospital since 1983. She said the hospital has lobbied for the past three or four years for a new ultrasound machine to replace the now-retired one that was 10 years old.

"Although it was a superb machine and it was top of the line for the money we paid, it was old and five years past its prime and the images were getting degraded," MacInnis said. "(The new machine) has an astounding exposure in the images. You can see so much you almost have to relearn anatomy."

The machine, a Toshiba Aplio XG, arrived at the hospital on March 29. It's used for obstetrics, and also to check gall bladders, kidney stones and other bumps and to look for calcifications in breasts, which could lead to cancer.

Ultrasound machines use sound waves, similar to sonar in submarines.

"It's a bit more of a button-pushing unit, but it's really nice," MacInnis said. "Ultrasound is in high demand. The young doctors are used to having it at their beck and call."

The diagnostic imaging department sees between five and 10 patients per day, for all different reasons. MacInnis said doctors like using ultrasound because it's a non-invasive diagnostic tool.

The hospital received its first ultrasound machine in 1984. Before that, patients would travel to Yellowknife for a scan. Although appointments would take only a half hour, the trips often took three days, due to flight schedules.

The machine cost $179,000, but shipping, installation and instruction brought the cost to $385,000.

We welcome your opinions. Click here to e-mail a letter to the editor.