Durban - The cast of Grey’s Anatomy gathered around the Lodox machine and looked in awe as it did an entire body X-ray of a person injured in a road accident, in 13 seconds, a procedure that would take around 20 minutes with conventional X-rays.
“It’s freaking magical,” whispered one character.
This scene was aired on Monday night’s episode of award winning soap, Grey’s Anatomy on M-Net, and the machine that threw the characters was designed, built and distributed in South Africa by local company, Lodox.
The Lodox device is the world’s first and only full-body, high-speed digital X-ray scanner. It was originally developed for security screening on South Africa’s diamond mines, but Lodox Systems developed the technology for medical use.
The scanner takes 13 seconds to produce an accurate, full-body overview of injuries and foreign bodies in a patient.
Lodox chief executive, Pieter de Beer is swelling with pride over the X-ray from his company being shown on one of America’s top 10 shows.
“Grey’s Anatomy is only TV, but in real life, doctors in South Africa and international hospitals are saving lives with Lodox and using our technology for the most effective trauma management,” said De Beer.
On how his company managed to get the machine to be used on Grey’s Anatomy, De Beer said he got a phone call saying the show intended to use the device and was amazed.
De Beer said he asked how much they would be expected to pay the show for the use of the device and was told there was be no payment needed.
“No other device can give clinicians such a fast and accurate picture of a patient’s whole body, together with a low radiation dose, which means the machine can be used safely when placed directly in emergency rooms,” he added.
According to Lodox, their scanner emits 10 times less radiation than conventional X-ray systems.
Locally, the scanner can be found at 13 public hospitals and one private one, as well as in two mortuaries, and helps determine cause of death.
De Beer said they were in the process of trying to get other institutions to make use of the device.
He admitted that the device was expensive, going for up to R4-million locally, but said his company was trying to ensure that it was as cost-effective as possible for public hospitals.
He added that the company hoped to get the machine in district hospitals in the next three years. The Lodox device is also a useful tool in criminal investigation as it quickly detects the existence of foreign objects inside a person. - The Mercury