Lek donates EUR 10,000 for the purchase of x-ray machine

The hospital is already preparing the space for the new x-ray machine, and installation will begin this year. Training of the technicians will begin in January, and the machine is scheduled to begin regular use in February of next year.

“Lek in Prevalje, where we celebrated our 30th anniversary this year, is closely connected with the local and wider regional environment. We try to do all we can to help in various areas of life in this region. For many years we have sponsored young volleyball players from Prevalje, we have earmarked funds for the purchase of a firefighting vehicle, this year we enabled 10 children from this region to go on holiday through the Red Cross, and we support the Prevalje Mountain Rescue Service. On Community Partnership Day the employees of Lek in Prevalje helped one of our colleagues, whose brand new house burned down last year, to arrange the house and the surroundings, we visited the oldest resident of Prevalje, donated blood and put on social games for the residents of Prevalje Home for the Elderly. And these are just a few examples. We help schools, disabled people’s associations, students, cultural associations and others. Especially in these unsure times it is all the more important that we do not forget about the people in our area who need our help. Easing the suffering of patients and the work of doctors are certainly among the most important. Therefore we decided to assist the hospital in Slovenj Gradec and contribute 10,000 euros for the purchase of the x-ray machine,”said Zlatko Ajd, Head of Lek Prevalje, upon handing over the check.

Advantages of the new x-ray machine

The first x-ray machine at the Slovenj Gradec General Hospital was purchased between 1905 and 1910, just over 10 years after the discovery of x-rays. In 1986 with their own funds and donations from companies in Koroška they purchased the first machine for cardiovascular examinations, and in 1994 they purchased a multipurpose x-ray machine for digestive tract, urinary tract and cardiovascular examinations. “This obsolete 13-year-old device no longer allows us to perform the most difficult types of procedures in the cardiovascular system, and due to overuse it is often out of order. For this reason we have to perform part of our x-ray imaging on the 21-year-old machine from 1986,” explained the Director of the Slovenj Gradec General Hospital Dr. Janez Lavre, who added that he is happy that as early as next year they will be able to offer patients examinations and perform procedures with the help of the new, modern machine.

In Slovenia, 10 to 20 percent of the population older than 65 years of age suffer from cardiovascular difficulties. When narrow blood vessels are detected on time, these difficulties can be treated using a special balloon. These procedures are performed with the help of an x-ray machine and eliminate the need for an operation. The new machines display the blood vessels from several angles, allowing safer expansion of longer and harder blockages of the blood vessels and insertion of stents, and also allow the use of new techniques for cleaning blood-vessel walls and blood clots. The new digital x-ray machines expose patients to less radiation than the old machines, which is especially important when x-raying children and anyone who requires long-term and difficult cardiovascular treatment.