640-Slice CT Scanner Examines Patients Faster With Less Radiation

• The 640-slice CT scanner uses 80% less radiation than conventional scanners. The
• 640-slice CT scanner can image the entire heart in less than one third of a second.
• The scanner’s fast rotation and large detector coverage change the way routine images are acquired.

The next-generation 640-slice CT scanner offers the latest in medical technology for superior diagnostic power. The scanner ensures unsurpassed visualization of vessels and tissue structures, thereby providing doctors with all the information they need to make a diagnosis with confidence in the shortest of time.

The 640-slice CT scanner uses 80% less radiation than conventional scanners. The radiation dose is less because of dose-modulating technology, which adjusts the dose for each patient. Because of the low radiation dose, the scanner is safer for patients and especially suitable in pediatrics. Scans require less radiation, less contrast medium and less need for sedation, improving overall patient safety.

Among the scanner’s many other benefits is the 78 centimeters wide bore, ensuring that patients remain at ease during scanning and feel comfortable without experiencing any stress. The wide open bore can also accommodate larger patients who may not fit in conventional scanners.

The scanner’s fast rotation and large detector coverage change the way routine images are acquired. Previous generation scanners have slower rotation and smaller coverage. Several images need to be stitched together to get a full organ scan. The 640-slice CT scanner can image the entire heart in less than one third of a second. One rotation is all it takes to capture an entire organ, a baby’s chest or a whole foot.

The scanner delivers unparalleled speed and image clarity for rapid diagnostic accuracy. One rotation takes less than one second, decreases radiation exposure and eliminates movement artifacts. Scans are easier to interpret, making the 640-slice CT scanner particularly ideal for cardiology and heart patients whose previous scans were inconclusive. Images from older scanners are often blurry and non-diagnostic. Scans from the 640-slice CT scanner are clear with patented pixel-perfect subtraction.

The scanner’s unmatched speed and accuracy not only reduce the time to diagnosis, treatment costs can be lowered as well. Patients no longer need to wait hours for answers, and no admission to the hospital is required if for instance they have low- to moderate-risk coronary artery disease (CAD).

The scanner can also diagnose CAD in obese patients at an early stage, so that cost-saving preventive therapies may be started on time. This is a feature of the CT scanner that did not exist before. The scanner can also be used to determine a calcium buildup on the walls of arteries. Patients can start preventive therapies if they have any degree of calcium in the heart, which, if untreated, could lead to growing blockages and heart attack.

Other cost- and risk-saving benefits are the scanner’s use as an alternative to more invasive and high-risk diagnostic procedures, such as for brain and aortic patients. The 640-slice CT scanner facilitates transcatheter aortic valve replacements, when faulty aortic valves are replaced via needle-puncture of the skin in patients who are high-risk candidates for open-heart surgery.

The 640-slice CT scanner allows doctors to evaluate the patient’s aortic valve and determine whether he or she is a candidate for this less invasive procedure, where the replacement valve is inserted through an artery in the leg, near the clavicle or through the aorta directly, and put into place.

The 640-slice CT scanner can also be used for patients who had a heart bypass surgery and need another one. The scans assist surgeons in determining exactly where to make another incision.

Furthermore, the scanner’s 4D DSA (digital subtraction angiography) of the brain finds its use in neurology to assess the ability to intervene with stroke patients. The entire brain can be scanned in a few seconds and multiple phases of brain function in minutes. Using advanced analysis software, doctors reading the scan can provide assessments of the brain’s function and structures in about 10 minutes.

Trauma patients as well can be scanned quickly and effectively. The scanner provides enhanced diagnosis of bony and soft tissue damage in one exam. The scanner is also used to prepare for orthopedic surgeries on trauma patients.

If they have metallic prosthesis, the scan can contain artifacts from the prosthesis. The 640-slice CT scanner’s technology will smooth out artifacts from metallic prosthesis.

Another advantage for imaging some orthopedic patients with the 640-slice CT scanner is that they don’t have to lie on the scanner table, which can be a comfort issue for some patients. Scanning an extremity like a wrist or an elbow, the patient can comfortably sit on a chair on the back side of the gantry and put his arm in the opening.