Garrick Hoffman

At the SMCC Mid-coast campus in Brunswick, there sits a GE Proteus x-ray unit with a value in the ballpark of $50,000 – $80,000. Manufactured in 2007, the machine provides the source of x-rays, which a radiographer projects at a patient to acquire diagnostic images of patient anatomy.

So why is this slice of information significant? Let’s back up a bit.

Claire Ruozzi and Theresa Bolduc are current students in the radiography program at SMCC in South Portland. Both aspire to graduate from SMCC and eventually attain a position in their specialized field. With the education they receive from the school, as well as hands-on experience in class, they will have a healthy understanding of the operations behind radiography. Between clinical rotations, classroom work, and simulation lab work, not to mention a lot of dedication, time investment, and plenty of repetition, these students will develop a thorough understanding of what they’re trying to learn, as they hope to carry the skills and understanding they develop to this field beyond the finish line of SMCC.

Diagnostic imaging is what really constitutes radiography, which plays an important role in medicine, thanks to machines that enable specialized individuals to both see and understand human anatomy and physiology.

However, the students are currently using what Bolduc describes as an “older, somewhat outdated x-ray unit that is no longer energized.” She goes on to argue that, although their current unit has value and serves a purpose, a more modern and energized unit would be miles more useful in its relevancy, its effectiveness, and user-friendliness, thus providing a more enriching and accurate educational experience, as well as serving a more effective tool to apply to the professional field.

The students are also required to travel off campus to Maine Medical Center, or at sites located in Scarborough and Falmouth, for their clinics where they practice on the machine. There, Radiographic Exposure teacher Seth Doane has their students perform in a “fish lab,” using Gyotaku or Japanese fish, which allows the students to take images of frozen fish to evaluate how the major technical factors affect the quality of the images. With the use of a whole frozen fish for their x-ray subject, the students are able to image a wide range of tissue densities and approximate the range that we might see in humans. This lab serves as a simulation for x-raying patients, but obviously on a much smaller scale, hence the fish. This is a very important simulation for the students because of how crucial it is to set correct technical factors to demonstrate anatomy and limit the dose of radiation received by the patient. Radiographers want to ascertain the best diagnostic information without exposing patients to unnecessary radiation.

Despite the importance of this process, however, the fact is that they’re still using an outdated machine. So we head back to 2012, when an exciting piece of news for the radiography program was revealed: the GE Proteus x-ray unit from the Brunswick campus was theirs.

Louise Ouellette, a professor in the radiography program with a visual art background, says, “for the program to have this unit….is a once in a lifetime opportunity.” Imaging technology has indeed been moving at a very rapid forward velocity, much like any other form of technology, and so it is therefore paramount that students, especially in this program, have access to relevant machinery. “The x-ray source that we are relocating,” Ouellette begins, “is very stable technology and will allow us extensive versatility relative to the scope of practice of a radiographer. We expect this design to be relevant for decades.” She goes on to argue that “the greatest benefit to our student’ education is that this equipment is consistent with current technology in the field.”

It all sounds so sweet, but it’s not all that simple.

Although the GE Proteus has been acquired for the South Portland campus, it will still need to be delivered, installed, and energized. Furthermore, a lead shielding will need to be installed in order to comply with radiation safety. Then there’s the image receptor to consider. But the program also receives donated equipment that has proved no longer useful for their clinical affiliations; in addition, the program has an opportunity to purchase a used imaging system from their service vendor at a diminished cost. Although some of this equipment has sort of expired in the medical world, it’s still enormously useful for the radiography program, offering years of learning ahead for the students.

All of these expenses attached to receiving the new imaging machine add up to a staggering price figure (hovering around $30,000) that no doubt will need to be paid. It’s been a daunting and timely task, but the total funding needed to execute such tasks is nearing its completion, what with generous contributions from myriad donors, including SMCC alumni, private partners, and clinical affiliate partners.

Here’s when things become more interesting. Beyond traditional funding from the above listed sources, funding has also come from a collectively creative source, with a little help from Seth Doane, Louise Ouellette, and their radiography students.

Ouellette notes that she has always wondered what kind of artistic capacities and possibilities lay within digitally manipulating x-ray images. The combination of this curiosity, paired with a desire to offer something back to the program, was “such a wonderful influence in my life, (and it) set the wheels in motion.” From there, she was able to implement an entirely new learning experience for the students: producing x-ray images into beautiful works of art, and putting them up for sale to accelerate the attainment of the final financial goal for the new x-ray unit. It’s like turning the dials of your learning day from bland and monotonous to colorful and enriching, not to mention educationally advantageous.

Although the current x-ray machine is surely used conventionally, students now take their generated images and post-process them with medical imaging software. They replace the traditional grayscale values with color, which helps them understand how images are formed in the digital world. “The results range from subtle duotone/tritone images to wildly colored, pixilated compositions,” according to Ouellette. She eventually extended the scope of the learning objective by having students bring in objects of their own to image. A unified theme for objects and imaging was set, which for this year is “metamorphosis.” Maine Medical Center has been a consistent buyer of the students’ work, and within the last month they have bought in the vicinity of $800 worth of photos.

This project is beneficial in a multitude of ways. One, the students further their practicing efforts and understanding of the machine so as to attain a desired final result of the image, becoming ever so closer to their goal of fully grasping the functionalities of the unit and the process that comes with it. Two, the prints that are produced from the hands of the students and the technology they use to manipulate it coalesce to form another effort in chipping away at the expenses of receiving the GE Proteus. Furthermore, the students have the opportunity to create art (and receive credit for it!), which in itself is a fulfilling and rewarding process; they benefit Maine Medical Center by spicing up their walls via work under the conditions of medical procedures, and the students have the privilege of having their work displayed.

Even after the installation of the new machine is complete, the radiography program still plans to expand their efforts for the photo sales. When speaking of the SMCC Foundation’s Radiography Fund, Ouellette says, “(the fund) will continue to grow through photo purchases and donations to support student scholarships, educational initiatives, and classroom and laboratory equipment, and for interdisciplinary learning opportunities with other departments in the coming years.” So we gather that the students’ photo sales have innumerable positive impacts, from generating funds to submerging the students in an active learning process for their future professions.

“Plus,” Ouellette adds, “it’s fun.”