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CT SCANNER OF THE FUTURE HAS ARRIVED AT THOMPSON HEALTH
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CANANDAIGUA, NY - Thompson Health announced today that they have added a state-of-the-art multislice Computed Tomography (CT) scanner to their facility with the opening of the Polisseni Family Diagnostic Imaging department. The new 40 slice Brilliance CT scanner from Philips Medical Systems features advanced technology that produces split-second high quality images, permitting doctors to see more anatomical detail in a fraction of the time needed for other tests. With this new CT scanner, Thompson Health's doctors will be able to detect and treat a range of life threatening illnesses, including heart disease, cancer, stroke, and lung disease more effectively than ever before. The possibility of discovering disease in an early stage, when a wider array of effective treatment options may be available, will help doctors make an accurate diagnosis, and recommend appropriate treatment for their patients.
According to Ted Barnett, MD, Chief of Diagnostic Imaging at Thompson Health, "Our new CT scanner produces beautiful images of internal organs so quickly that any patient can hold their breath during an exam without difficulty. This is especially important for very sick patients and for children. Our previous CT scanner, which was considered fast when we purchased it 5 years ago, could produce about 4 images (slices) per second whereas the new scanner produces up to 95 images per second and can image 8 centimeters of the patient's body every second. Such rapid scanning means that the entire chest can be imaged in less than 4 seconds. Additionally, the very thin 0.5 mm slices can be used to produce highly detailed 3D images which can be displayed on a computer screen and examined from any angle." Dr. Barnett adds, "The new scanner is so fast that it has the ability to freeze cardiac motion allowing us to obtain angiograms of the heart noninvasively with a simple intravenous injection."
The new scanner also performs state-of-the-art "virtual colonoscopy," a screening study equivalent to conventional colonoscopy in its clinical usefulness but with less discomfort and minimal risk.
"Older patients and those with breathing difficulties or some other distress will really appreciate the shorter exams," says April Panos, chief CT technologist. "We'll have them in and out much faster, and their doctors will be able to access detailed, definitive results within minutes." All CT scanners use X-rays, however the new Brilliance scanner uses a significantly lower amount of X-ray energy than many of the other CT systems on the market. "While we need the critical anatomical information we get from a CT scan, we always want to limit the X-ray dose to the patient to the absolute minimum possible, especially for children," says Dr Barnett. "Our new Brilliance scanner features unique technology that ensures we get exceptional images with significantly lower dose to the patient. And, it has specific built-in pediatric protocols that further minimize the dose to children," he says.
A CT scan produces a cross-sectional image of the human anatomy which helps the clinician to rule out or confirm the presence of certain disease, and in some cases to evaluate the extent of injuries to a trauma patient, such as someone involved in an automobile accident. During the noninvasive test, the patient is placed on a table and moved incrementally through the donut-shaped scanner while an X-ray beam is projected through cross sections of their anatomy. The X-ray energy passes through the patient and is recorded on electronic detectors in the scanner. This information is then sent to a specialized computer that reconstructs the information into individual slices and combines them sequentially into a comprehensive volume image of the entire area scanned. The thinner the slices, the more revealing the detail is in the resulting images, and the more definitive the exam results.
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