KARACHI, Feb 21: The Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre will convert its radiology department into digital radiography department by replacing its old equipment at a cost of Rs39 million.

According to the JPMC radiology department's head Dr Tariq, the PC-I of the project is being finalized and it would be submitted to the federal health ministry in the mid of March for approval. He said that the project would be completed in 12 months.

He said that the objective to upgrade the department was to provide diagnosis at the earliest possible stage of the disease at minimum possible cost. "At present, the department is consuming more than 0.14 million X-ray films, worth Rs4.5 million every year.

These films are provided by both the government and NGOs. After digitalization, we will save almost 80 per cent consumption of X-ray films," he added. "The images of digital radiography could be read at more than one place in the JPMC with the help of latest communication system and it will help the doctors in diagnosing the disease at the earliest," he said. -PPI