News
New high-tech CT scanner for Mildura
Jan 31, 2014
128-slice ultra-fast, state-of-the-art, high-resolution Siemens CT Scanner
- Cost approx. $750,000
- Gantry weight – two tonnes
- Scanner completes a full rotation in less than a third of the second (equivalent of 20 G-Force)
- The existing scanner performs six axial slices of the anatomy per scan rotation – its high-resolution replacement version performs 128 axial slices per rotation resulting much faster scan time or coverage of the patient
- Due to the fast rotation/acquisition speed (0.3sec) the system has the ability to "freeze" the heart providing doctors the ability to perform high resolution scans of the heart (coronary) arteries
- Patients on occasion have previously been required to be transferred out of Mildura for cardiac CT procedures; this new system will now provide a cardiac CT service for the local community.
- The scanner can perform all procedures undertaken by the current scanner, additionally it provides much higher resolution images and also has greater power for larger patients
- Due to the scanner's higher definition it is particularly useful for vascular (arteries) studies
- Due to the marked increased speed and power of the scanner it alleviates long breath holds for the chronically-sick patients who have difficulty holding their breath, or with chronic conditions such as lung disease and also paediatrics that may be too young to hold their breath or keep still ( a reduction from 25 to 5 seconds)
- The system comes with an ultra low-dose radiation package. This is of particular importance when scanning children or even adult sensitive organs to minimize the amount of X-Ray dose administered at time of scan (a reduction of up to 60%)
- The scanner comes with an additional 8 cm wider bore to accommodate larger patients and those who suffer from claustrophobia.
