AN Australian dinosaur believed to be almost 100 million years old has become the oldest patient ever to visit the I-MED Radiology clinic in Mount Isa.
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Mount Isa Hospital and I-Med Radiology joined with the Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum at Winton to make history on March 7 when CT scans were performed on Matilda – believed to be 95 million years old.
In a first for the Mount Isa Hospital, I-Med Radiology performed CT scans on fossilised bones belonging to the dinosaur from the cretaceous period.
I-Med is the provider of radiology services to the North West Hospital and Health Service.
The CT scans will assist a research project by University of New England PhD student Ada Klinkhamer.
The scans will help to determine the skeletal structure of Matilda and how she might have moved 95 million years ago.
Matilda was a sauropod dinosaur with a long neck and tail.
Recent studies suggest Matilda was 4m high and 15m long.
I-Med chief technologist David Friedman scanned the fossil specimens, which were mostly limb elements, such as arms, legs, ankle and toe bones.
“We treat all our patients with the utmost respect and privacy, but this opportunity was something really special,” Mr Friedman said.
“Even though the radiology and infection control techniques are the same for whatever you scan, it is definitely not a normal work day when you scan actual prehistory.
“We used our Toshiba Aquillion 16 CT scanner to record 40,000 images from the 20 bones provided.
“We will use our radiology software to provide a data set of individual scanned images to the museum and University of New England.
“They can then reconstruct from this data 3D images to determine the internal structure of the selected fossils.”
Museum education coordinator Steven Rumbold and laboratory coordinator George Sinapius acted as the “dino-handlers”, transporting the precious fossilised bones from the museum at Winton to Mount Isa Hospital.
“We are very grateful to I-Med for working around their patients and generously making their staff and equipment available to assist us in this way,” Mr Rumbold said.
“Working with dinosaurs is a childhood dream come true, particularly as only a handful of dinosaurs have been discovered in Australia.
“It has only been 10 years since Diamantinasaurus matildae, ‘‘Matilda’’ was discovered near Winton and later confirmed as an entirely new species of dinosaur.
“We invite the public to participate In our three-week
dinosaur digs every year and places are booked out fast. During the digs we usually unearth enough fossils to keep us busy in the laboratory for
the remainder of the year,” he said.
The greatest care is taken to preserve and transport the rare specimens.
“Matilda’s skeleton is one of the most robust dinosaur skeletons ever found in Australia and we have uncovered approximately 35 per cent of the entire skeleton,” Mr Sinapius said.
“We preserve the bones in a paraloid solution – a plastic acrylic resin mixed in with acetone –which will allow us to keep them for future generations to see.
“Some of the bones are in fibreglass cradles, boxed and wrapped in blankets to protect them when we transport them.’’
•For further information on how to view the fossil collection or join museum staff to prepare dinosaur bones, check out www.australianageofdinosaurs.com.