Bemidji’s Sanford Joe Lueken Cancer Center Installs New PET/CT Scanner

Before this past fall, if you lived close to the Bemidji area and your doctor recommended a PET/CT scan, it was a bit of a challenge to get that done.

“Historically, we’ve had a mobile PET/CT that required our patients to walk outside during all seasons,” said Chris St. Peter, Sanford Health Vice President of Operations. “We quickly realized that from a patient experience standpoint, that was not an ideal situation.”

It’s also not exactly ideal to drive all the way to North Dakota or down to the Twin Cities to get a PET/CT scan. So, Sanford Health in Bemidji made implementing this technology a priority.

“Unfortunately, we do see a broader population of patients, more and more patients every year, with a cancer diagnosis,” added St. Peter, “and it’s really important that we offer this service here in Bemidji so we’re able to keep those patients from traveling distances.”

The total cost of the project at large was over $3.5 million for the actual scanner and to renovate the space. But donors throughout the community were more than willing to help.

“They saw the need and they delivered,” said Emily Aitken-MaGaurn, Sanford Health Foundation Senior Development Coordinator. “We had 185 donors that were comprised of employees, community members, and businesses that came together to raise a significant amount for this project.”

A PET/CT scan is a type of imaging system that uses radioactive tracers to create 3D images to help doctors check for signs of cancer, heart disease, and even brain disorders. St. Peter noted there would be a significant improvement to the time it takes per scan, with it taking only 10 to 15 minutes now versus 25 to even 40 minutes in the mobile unit they were previously using.

“Once we get our workflows dialed in, we plan on probably scanning 40 patients a week,” said St. Peter. “This is a key piece of both diagnosing, staging, and then being able to see if those cancer treatments are actually effective as that patient goes through their treatment journey.”

Donors raised $746,000 towards this project, which is almost the full cost to renovate the room the PET/CT scanner sits in.