Desoto Imaging Specialists in Southaven may soon be the first freestanding outpatient angiography center in the state.

DeSoto Imaging & Diagnostics, LLC, which owns the center, has recently received recommendation from administrative hearing officer Cassandra Walter that the state health department approve its certificate of need (CON) application for the acquisition and provision of digital subtraction angiography (DSA) equipment and services.

"We are elated with the recommendation of the hearing officer," said Kevin Blackwell, president and CEO of DeSoto Imaging & Diagnostics, in a recent press release. "Now with this hurdle cleared, we can concentrate on providing the residents of DeSoto County and the surrounding area with an alternative choice for easy access, high quality, and affordable angiography services."

In August 2006, the Mississippi Department of Health's Division of Health Planning and Resource Development rendered its staff analysis recommending approval of DeSoto Imaging's application for a CON to provide DSA services at its new facility which opened in December in the DeSoto Medical Plaza at 7420 Guthrie Drive North.

Baptist Memorial Hospital-DeSoto, currently the sole provider of DSA services in DeSoto County, opposed the application stating it was meeting the needs of the county and there was no need for an additional DSA provider. The matter was set for hearing on Feb. 15-16, where both parties, DeSoto Imaging and Baptist DeSoto, presented evidence and testimony to support their positions.

The state health department's staff, along with Walter, determined the project substantially complied with criteria and standards for the establishment of DSA services as contained in the state's 2006 health plan, the state CON review manual, 2000 revision, and all adopted rules, procedures and plans of the department. According to Blackwell, an official decision on whether or not to issue the CON is expected to be made by the state health officer some time today.

Dr. Jason Morris, M.D., DeSoto Imaging's vice president and medical director, said, "With this event behind us, I am excited about moving forward with our endeavors. I am looking forward to using our capability to perform DSA procedures to improve the quality and access to healthcare in DeSoto County and surrounding areas."

As stated in a recent press release from DeSoto Imaging, DSA is a diagnostic imaging procedure that combines a digital processing unit with equipment similar to that used for standard fluoroscopic procedures. A radiopaque dye is injected into the patient to make the inside of the blood vessels visible under X-ray in order to visualize areas of narrowing or blockage in the blood vessels as well as to diagnose the cause of other medical conditions such as high blood pressure or stroke. A computer then compares the pre-injection and post injection images and subtracts any interferring bone and tissue structures obscuring the arteries. The X-ray photographs are converted into a digital form, which can then be manipulated and stored. Through electronic manipulation, the images can be enhanced and further refined to give detailed information about the patient's vascular anatomy without additional X-ray exposure.

Aside from the DSA equiment, DeSoto Imaging is also the first and only outpatient facility in the state to have a 64-channel CT, according to DeSoto Imaging officials. The facility is also set a part from other outpatient facilities in the state by having its own pathologist on staff offering patients same day return on preliminary biopsy results.

DeSoto Imaging is a provider of radiological diagnostic services that include magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography (CT), ultra sound, ECHO, nuclear medicine, stress testing, fluoroscopy, general X-rays, venous access, and pain management. The clinic now sees an average of 20 patients per day. Its offices are currently open from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.