Makati Medical Center gets new equipment

To further upgrade its capability of delivering world-class healthcare to Filipinos, Makati Medical Center has acquired two state-of-the-art medical equipment, a Magnetom Symphony MRI machine and a Coroskop Plus.

Fresh from celebrating its 32nd anniversary and garnering ISO 9002 and EN 46002 certifications, the premier hospital will have its two newest acquisitions blessed.

The Coroskop Plus, further modernized the hospital’s catheterization laboratory. The Magnetom Symphony, the first of its kind in the country, is a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machine that uses powerful magnetic radiofrequency waves with computer imaging to produce internal pictures of the human body. This has the features of the high-end MRIs used in the United States and has the fastest gradient available.

Providing sharper images and detecting smaller tumors that may not be seen on a regular MRI, the unit can also show changes in the brain when you tap your finger or say something. The technologically advanced machine can even produce, in real-time, an image of a beating heart. While other MRI units can show only four images in one second, the Magnetom Symphony can take 16 images. The machine has a smaller magnet with a wider interior so that patients will be less claustrophobic.

Coroskop Plus provides vital diagnostic services for people with known or suspected heart disease. During cardiac catheterization, a long, thin tube is inserted into a blood vessel. The tube is gently directed to the heart so that when a dye is injected, the doctors can take X-ray pictures and look for plaque build-up inside the arteries.

What makes the Siemens Coroskop Plus different is that it is more patient-friendly and it lowers the dose of radiation by 60 percent as compared to other machines. It produces excellent X-ray images and is ergonomically designed. All system components are interconnected by way of a fiber optic network. Results are quick and can be stored in a CD for documentation.

The new equipment form part of MMC’s continuing efforts to be at par with the best hospitals in the world. This year, the hospital acquired the highest possible quality standards for healthcare qualifying for ISO and EN certifications.

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) awarded ISO 9002 certification to MMC after at fulfilled quantity system requirements in management responsibility, quality system, process control, quality records, training and servicing.

MMC is only the 30th hospital in the world to receive European Norm (EN) certification. The EN 16002 certification granted to the hospital is the harmonized European standard for quality assurance in medical device manufacture and medical services. Achieving this seal of approval means meeting the strict EN standards of cleanliness, environmental controls, traceability and other issues. Critical processes such as hygiene, sanitation, infection control and sterilization were also scrutinized. It was through the guiding principles of the Total Quality Management (TQM) program that the hospital was able to improve its services and earn this dual certification.

Despite achieving such high recognition, it is sill MMCs priority to care for the less fortunate. Providing quality healthcare to patients regardless of wealth, race or creed has been the legacy of the hospital’s Founding Fathers and is continuously being instilled into every member of the MMC family. Since its inception in 1972, the Hospital with a Heart has reached out to more than 1.8 million indigents.

Having these two new machines mean that this number will further increase. Doctors can reach out to more patients, especially the needy. With a shower of blessings of 32 successful years, two highly esteemed certifications and two new state-off-the-art machines, MMC hopes to give its patients not only physical health but also spiritual well-being. At MMC, no diseases are infectious, only smiles and the desire to spread God’s love.