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Northern Hospital adds faster CT imaging system

December 27th, 2007 · No Comments

Northern Hospital of Surry County in Mount Airy has acquired a state-of-the-art LightSpeed® VCT (volume computed tomography) imaging system from GE Healthcare.

The system’s high-resolution, high-speed CT angiography will help physicians gather information they need to better diagnose diseases and life­-threatening conditions including cardiovascular disease and strokes.

In a single rotation, the LightSpeed VCT creates 64 high-resolution anatomical images, each section as thin as a credit card. These images are combined to form a three-dimensional view of the patient’s anatomy.

LightSpeed can capture images of a beating heart in five heartbeats and other organs in one second and perform whole body trauma exams in 10 seconds, more than twice as fast as conventional multi-slice CT scanners anywhere in Northern Hospital’s service region. This speed is especially helpful in shortening breath holds for geriatric patients, patients who are on ventilators and pediatric patients.

Director of Imaging Services Michael Leonard said, “Volume CT is patient friendly. Fast scans can help reduce patient stress and anxiety and some volume CT procedures can be done in only one simple exam.”

“We’re breaking barriers in speed and accuracy of patient exams and are now able to offer new and enhanced diagnostic procedures thanks to our new LightSpeed VCT,” stated Don Henderson, lead CT technologist.

Cardiac and coronary artery angiography CT scans are expected to begin by the spring of 2008.

For patients with chest pains, the LightSpeed VCT can help physicians rule out (or in) three potentially fatal conditions: aortic dissection, pulmonary embolism and coronary artery disease.

In stroke cases, where treatment should begin within an hour or less to ensure the best outcome for the patient, the LightSpeed VCT permits rapid imaging of blood vessels in the brain. It also reduces the number of exams a patient may need to undergo.

The Imaging Center at Northern Hospital of Surry County is staffed by board-certified radiologists from Forsyth Radiological Associates in Winston-Salem. The staff of CT technologists is ARRT CT certified and experienced. The center has three CT scanners to serve patients 24 hours a day.

The Imaging Center performed more than 21,000 CT scan procedures in 2007, detecting all sorts of diseases and injuries in patients from Surry and surrounding counties.

Tags: Health care

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