Oregon Institute of Technology (OIT)

Oregon Institute of Technology is a public institution founded in 1947. Oregon Institute of Technology’s ranking in the 2020 edition of Best Colleges is Regional Colleges West, #6. While they have multiple locations in the beautiful PNW, their residential campus is located in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains, in the city of Klamath Falls.

Oregon Tech is somewhat unique in that it allows for a Bachelor of Science in Radiologic Science. It is the only such program in Oregon and one of only a few in the nation. Most radiologic tech programs provide certificates or two-year degrees. Students graduating from Oregon Tech enjoy a 96% success rate and are often found management positions in a relatively short period of time.

In 2017, discussions with Konica Minolta & Shimadzu Medical Systems USA NW Branch began. Of importance to Oregon Tech was the ability to provide project-based, hands-on learning opportunities for its students and faculty with a wide range of variety in their imaging laboratory. With our combined commitment to innovation and extensive experience in installations and service, the planning began. The idea was to allow for four existing rooms to be combined to form two mock trauma rooms. These mock trauma rooms would simulate not only the work done in a trauma hospital but also allow more movement in the rooms. This would enable multiple modality work to be accomplished and provide larger work areas for students and faculty. This is important, especially since the radiologic science students are some of only a handful of students nationwide who have the opportunity to work with not only phantoms but human cadavers!

As OIT made plans for renovation, budgeting was reviewed and funded, and the hope was that installation could take place during the summer months when the bulk of students would be off-campus. With required construction changes, new leading and running additional electrical work, as well as touching up walls and floors, and all systems would need to be installed, up and running in a matter of two months. Thanks to the great work completed by Oregon Tech’s own Facilities Services Department and Radiologic Sciences Program Director and Department Chair, the work was completed by the Team ahead of schedule, and a newly renovated on-campus laboratory is now in place.

In all, ten full x-ray systems were installed! There were 7 Konica OTC systems, a Straight Arm simulating Urgent Care work, a U-Arm good for all imaging, but especially ortho work, and a Shimadzu MX8 portable unit for training to simulate real hospital challenges and maneuvering. All systems included Konica AeroDR and AeroRemote Insights.

Due to the partnership and successful integration of the new systems, radiologic science students who complete their education at Oregon Tech will have an incredible advantage as they head into their respective fields. The radiology students will have the benefit of having had experience with a wide variety of x-ray equipment that is both versatile and innovative in its approach to imaging.