1. Remarkable scientific and technical developments in diagnostic imaging
profoundly improve our ability to diagnose and treat disease and
to save lives in cases of severe emergency and trauma
New CT Scanner Needed
at Soroka Medical Center
The Need
Enormous technological advances have been made in computer tomography scanners (CT) in the
last few years. They have become a major diagnostic tool for emergency and ambulatory medicine that
require highly sophisticated imaging. This advanced imaging is often used in scanning the heart
and brain where speed and accuracy are critical as in the case of stroke, and is used as well for other scans
such as intestines and the vascular system.
The Emergency Department and Trauma Unit of Soroka Medical Center, where lives are saved
every day, are generally well-equipped. Soroka’s Trauma Unit is the largest and busiest in Israel, always
on call, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Soroka serves as the regional trauma center for victims of terror
and for all Israel Defense Force bases in and near the Negev. The need is constant and increasing. More
than 3,000 trauma patients are admitted to Soroka annually. The need for Emergency and Trauma medical
services will increase even further as major IDF bases are being moved to the Negev.
Soroka's lone advanced 64-slice CT is located in the Emergency Room. It provides service for all
emergency medicine and is used 24/7 in Emergency and Trauma. This CT is stretched to its limit
and therefore cannot provide proper service for cardiology and neurology and other ambulatory
medicine needs that also require advanced imaging.
Soroka Medical Center is the second largest and busiest hospital in Israel, the only major medical
center in the entire Negev, serving a population of more than one million inhabitants, including 400,000
children, in a region that accounts for 60% of the country’s total land area. Each year, Soroka cares for
more than 500,000 outpatient clinic visits and 200,000 emergency cases, 80,000 hospitalizations fill its
1,000 beds, over 32,000 surgical procedures are performed, and more than 14,000 babies are born.
The new CT which is needed to serve the patients of Soroka Medical Center will be located in Soroka's
Imaging Institute. It will significantly improve critical diagnostic capabilities for cardiac and vascular
surgery and stroke imaging.
CT, Computerized Tomography, is a sophisticated technology which applies modern computer science to
X-ray procedures. CT has become the procedure of choice for the diagnosis and treatment of a wide range

2. of serious medical conditions. Multi-slice CT represents a generation of fast scanners that have important
applications in managing trauma patients, in angiography, cardiac imaging, virtual colonoscopy, and more,
allowing significantly earlier comprehensive diagnoses. CT uses modern computerized reconstruction to
view extraordinary 'slices' through the body.
Cardiology: Computerized Tomography of the heart has made great strides in the last decade, applying
up-to-date research to diagnostic tools, proving to be of extraordinary clinical importance for diagnosing
cardiac disease. Multi-slice CT equipment is constantly undergoing changes and improvement. New CT
technology has reached the market with the ability to provide a larger number of slices, equipped with
state-of-the-art technology that enables extremely high definition images that often replace the need for
invasive catheterizations, with ever-decreasing exposure to radiation.
Vascular System and the Brain: Advanced CT scanning provides rapid and precise imaging of blood
vessels, particularly those in the brain. It enables physiological imaging of the brain to make possible
precise diagnoses with relatively low exposure to radiation. Thanks to the speed in which these tests are
conducted advances become possible such as avoiding the use of general anesthesia on children and
eliminating superfluous diagnostic catheterizations.
Intestines: Cutting-edge CT technology can identify miniscule tumors in the intestines, playing an
important role in preventive medicine especially for patients with high risk factors. In some cases it even
eliminates the need for colonoscopy.
In order to make all of this possible, to provide the quick and precise high quality imaging that will
facilitate faster and more exact diagnoses and ultimately save lives, there is a very real need for an
additional advanced CT at Soroka Medical Center, a new 256 slice CT scanner.
Donation and Donor Recognition
Soroka Medical Center is currently seeking the gift or gifts that will make possible the purchase of
a new state-of-the-art 256-slice CT and peripherals at a total cost of $1,400,000.
To match the gift or gifts dedicated for the new CT, Soroka Medical Center will provide the
necessary infrastructure for its operation, as well as the physicians and radiology personnel needed
to operate the new CT.
Prominent donor recognition will be provided on site and on Soroka's Donor Wall of Honor.
We greatly appreciate your consideration of this request.
The immediate measure of success will be the additional lives that have been saved by the availability
of this vital equipment.
Thank you!

3. Soroka Medical Center
Soroka Medical Center is among Israel’s largest and most advanced hospitals, also serving as the teaching
hospital of the Ben-Gurion University Medical School, whose Faculty of Health Sciences is located on
the hospital campus.
On par with leading international institutions, Soroka is a recognized specialist in areas including early
detection and treatment of breast cancer using minimally invasive procedures, revolutionary treatment
of myocardial infarction involving genetic engineering, non-invasive removal of malignant tumors,
pediatric infectious diseases, trauma rehabilitation of children and adolescents, and much more.
Soroka’s staff is dedicated to providing the best medical and emergency care, while treating the patient
as a whole human being. Soroka Medical Center combines medical excellence, dedication, and the
achievements of pioneering Israel, with significant opportunities to partner in meeting very immediate
needs and having a very real impact on the lives of families and children.
Success at Soroka is measured by the numbers of patients we are able to serve, by the quality of the
healthcare they receive, and by the survival rate of pediatric and adult patients brought to Soroka in the
most severe medical condition. More difficult to measure is the significant impact of our efforts in the
areas of education, preventive medicine, and public health.
We are proud to say that despite the great severity of cases treated at Soroka Medical Center, the survival
rates of our Emergency Department and Trauma Unit, like that of our Neonatal, Pediatric, and Adult
Intensive Care Units, is equal to that of the finest medical centers in the western world. Medical
care and survival rates could be even better with appropriate state-of-the-art equipment.