Tribulations and triumphs of the Tetley Technegas technology

Xenon-133 was the preferred agent for lung ventilation studies at the Royal Adelaide Hospital until the purchase of a Tetley Technegas system some 12 months ago. The experience with Technegas from the technical rather than the clinical viewpoint and particularly the costs involved is summarised. The production of the Technegas is described. The costs of the equipment needed and the running costs involved for both the xenon-133 gas and the Technegas systems are discussed and compared. Looking at the costs of expendables on a per patient basis, the xenon gas system is $A29 and the Technegas system $A33 for a through-put of 60 patients per month. After initial misgivings about the increased cost, time-consuming preparation and new technology, the physicians are very pleased with the added information and the high quality scans that the Technegas study produces