CC image courtesy of Dr. Jochen Lengerke.
South African digital X-ray device Lodox was featured in an episode of Grey’s Anatomy broadcast on M-Net on Monday, June 10.
Lodox, the first and only full-body, high-speed digital X-ray scanner in the world, was initially built for South African diamond mines.
However, Lodox Systems developed the device further for medical purposes.
“It’s freaking magical,” one of the characters whispered during the scene featuring a Lodox procedure as performed on a road accident-injured patient.
The X-ray machine takes 13 seconds to give accurate full-body skeletal views, significantly faster than the 20 minutes required for traditional X-rays.
Pieter de Beer, chief executive at Lodox, said he was proud the device was featured on the award winning American show.
“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,” De Beer said, as reported by The Mercury.
De Beer was contacted to grant permission for the onscreen use prior to the screening.
He was amazed by the request and expected to be asked to pay, but no fee was required.
The South African scanner is ten times more radiation-friendly than conventional devices and can also be used to detect death causes.
Two mortuaries, 13 public hospitals and one private hospital in South Africa makes use of Lodox as the company is still in the process of introducing the product to other institutions.
Locally obtainable at a cost of approximately ZAR4 million (US$390,000), De Beer admits it is expensive.
Lodox Systems aims to make it available to district hospitals by 2016 by making an effort to supply it at an affordable rate to public hospitals.
