A NEW €1.1 million 64-slice CT (computer tomography) scanner at Cork University Hospital (CUH) is expected to have a significant impact on patient care, allowing both a greater number and a wider range of patients to be scanned while also speeding up the actual scanning process.
According to Prof Michael Maher, consultant radiologist at CUH and professor of radiology at University College Cork, the HSE's acquisition of the new scanner will be of major assistance to staff at the department of radiology at the hospital in providing a better and more efficient service.
"CT scanning involves computer-driven machinery sending X-rays through the body, producing digitised signals that are detected and reconstructed. Each X-ray measurement lasts just a fraction of a second and represents a 'slice' of an organ or tissue," said Prof Maher.
"The greater the number of detectors, the better the speed and resolution of the picture and a computer then uses these slices to reconstruct highly detailed, 3-D images of the heart, other organs, and blood vessels throughout the body," he said.
Prof Maher explained that in most cases, a patient is injected intravenously with a contrast solution to increase the visual detail and the new 64-slice CT scanner will allow increased speed of volume coverage which is important because CT angiography relies on precise timing after injecting the intravenous contrast.
"While there are excellent quality images generated by the existing 4-slice CT scanners, the 64-slice CT technology improves the clinicians' ability to visualise blood vessels without the use of catheters and can provide useful imaging of the blood flow to the heart, limbs and brain non-invasively."
The department of radiology at CUH carries out some 25,000 CT scans annually and the new machine will allow clinicians develop cardiac CT services in addition to the existing cancer and neurological CT services.
"It will also reduce the need in selective cases for invasive procedures such as coronary angiography and cerebral angiography that carry certain complications while it will also offer new opportunities for evaluation of blood flow in the brain for patients with acute stroke," said Prof Maher.
He pointed out that the new 64-slice CT scanner, which comes on stream in December, will also enhance CUH's participation in local, national and international research projects, evaluating disease processes and treatments.
