New CT Enhances ED Scanning
In early November 2008 Northwestern Radiology successfully completed its first day of scanning patients in the emergency department (ED) at Northwestern Memorial with its new Siemens 128-slice AS+ CT scanner. The first adaptive scanner of its kind in Chicago and one of only a few in the country, this CT scanner ranks among the fastest in the world and features a rotation time of 0.3 seconds.
“It is extremely fast and ideal for the emergency room where throughput is essential” says Vahid Yaghmai, MD, medical director of CT. “It rotates more than three times a second. The fastest 16-slice scanner, for example, has a rotation time of 0.37 seconds and most other scanners are in the 0.4-second range.” The new scanner has a weight capacity of 650 pounds and a large gantry of 78 centimeters, allowing the ED to accommodate more patients of all sizes. It features a 100- kilowatt generator, among the most powerful in the industry, which lends itself well to the production of quality images.
Technologically engineered to reduce radiation delivery to patients, the scanner offers many features that make it ideally suited for the ED environment. “It enhances our ability to perform perfusion scans of the brain, which are very useful for stroke patients,” explains Dr. Yaghmai. “It provides 10-centimeter coverage for these types of studies as well as allows us to perform dynamic studies with a large coverage of 27 centimeters.” Additionally the scanner can perform scans for 4D angiographic studies and has potential research applications for oncology-related perfusion scans.