KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. – Oregon Tech unveiled new cutting edge technology in their Radiologic Science program. The investment is estimated at nearly $2 million.
“This is the single largest procurement of X-ray equipment in the history of our program,” explained Associate Professor Don McDonnell. “We’ve been around since 1952.”
The medical use of X-rays began in 1895. David Widmann of Konica Minolta Healthcare noted the technology has come a long way since then. “What’s changed in the last ten years is we’ve been able to take what was a film-based business, and turn it into a digital-based business,” Widmann said.
Those instantaneous images can be manipulated and emailed anywhere for expert diagnosis.
McDonnell noted the new technology is also movable, and adaptable. “It makes it easier on the patient, because we move the machine around the patient.”
The partnership with Konica Minolta could extend to other programs at Oregon Tech, according to McDonnell. “We’re in negotiations for intern opportunities for our engineering programs.”
Widmann said the company will also benefit from the arrangement. “We have a partner now to test new equipment, and new concepts.”
Patients will benefit from having graduates trained with cutting-edge technology. “That’s a win for everyone,” Widmann pointed out. “It’s a win for medicine, it’s a win for the university, it’s a win for Konica Minolta.”
The Radiologic Science Lab is located in Oregon Tech’s Martha Anne Dow Center for Health Professions.
Service support will be provided by Core Medical.
KOTI-TV NBC2 reporter Lyle Ahrens moved from Nebraska to Klamath Falls in the late 1970’s. He instantly fell in love with the mountains, the trees and the rivers, and never once regretted the move.Lyle’s job history is quite colorful.
He’s managed a pizza parlor; he’s been a bartender, and a “kiwifruit grader” at an organic orchard in New Zealand. A Klamath Falls radio station hired Lyle in the mid 90’s as a news writer and commercial producer. In 2004, Lyle joined the KOTI/KOBI news operation.Lyle notes with pride that he has a big responsibility presenting the Klamath Basin to a wide and varied audience.
“The on-going water crisis has underscored the fact that the people and the issues in the Klamath Basin are every bit as diverse as the terrain. Winning and keeping the trust of the viewers, as well as the newsmakers, is something I strive for with each story”.
When he’s not busy reporting the news, Lyle enjoys astronomy, playing guitar, fixing old radios and listening to anything by Sheryl Crow.