New x-ray equipment, purchased thanks to the donations of the Hospitals Auxiliary of Bermuda (HAB), was yesterday unveiled by the Bermuda Hospitals Board.The new equipment is intended to replace a 16-year-old system at the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital, which was becoming increasingly difficult and expensive to maintain.The new equipment includes a replacement fluoroscope which enables an imaging technique that uses X-rays to obtain real-time moving images of the internal structures of a patient, called fluoroscopy.Fluoroscopies are frequently used to investigate the gastrointestinal tract or urinary tract, or provide an arthogram of joints.While the Hospital Board paid $57,855 to install the system, the cost of the donated equipment itself cost $419,864, all raised by the HAB through membership dues, The Pink Cafe, The Gift Shop and The Barn.According to HAB President Ann Marie Pailing, the organisation donates around half a million dollars to the Hospital Board annually to purchase new equipment, along with supplying the hospital with numerous volunteers.Renee Butterfield, Manager of Diagnostic Imaging, said: “This donation helped us replace equipment that was increasingly challenging and costly to maintain.“The impact to patient care resulted in delays due to high levels of maintenance, and extended downtimes. The HAB’s donation enabled us to improve quality with new technology and relieved the escalating financial burden of keeping aged equipment running.”Daniel Stovell, Chief of Diagnostic Imaging, said that the equipment will improve the quality of care provided by the hospital, and will be moved to the new hospital building when it is opened next year.“Our new equipment updates our technology and enables us to improve the quality of the images and reduce the amount of contrast and radiation patients are exposed to in each test,” Dr Stovell said.