The 64-slice CT scanner at New London Family Medical Center provides patients with the benefit of faster, higher-quality diagnostic images. The advanced technology can capture precise images of any area of the body in as little as a ten second breath-hold.
The fast scanning capabilities and image quality offer significant benefits for a quick and accurate diagnosis of trauma patients experiencing chest pain or stroke. Additionally, chest exams, which take 5-6 minutes with a standard CT scanner, can now be performed in just 19 seconds with images that allow physicians to see internal injuries and disease in greater detail than ever before.
Benefits of Multi-Slice Technology
- Captures precise images of the body’s rapidly moving organs like the heart and lungs, which appear blurry when scanned by a traditional CT.
- Assists with examining patients who are unable to hold their breath, like trauma victims, acutely ill patients and young children.
Clinicians perform CT scans to diagnose conditions of the kidney, lung, liver, spine, and blood, as well as cancer, tumors, cysts, blood clots, hemorrhages and infections.
How a CT Exam Works
- A patient lies on a gantry, or table, and is slowly moved into the large donut-shaped opening of the machine.
- Once inside, a series of X-ray beams create hundreds of cross-sectional pictures that represent slices of the patient’s body.
- Seconds later, the system’s computer assembles the slices into three-dimensional images that are interpreted by a clinician.
While CT uses X-ray technology, it is distinguished from other diagnostic imaging tools like traditional X-ray and MRI by its ability to display a combination of soft tissue (like muscles, tissue, organs and fat), bones and blood vessels all in a single image.
For more information on the 64-slice CT scanner at New London Family Medical Center, contact us at (920) 531-2085.