High-end CT scanner commissioned in CMC

Equipment costing Rs.7.5 crore helps to assess patients in less than a minute

A high-end CT scanner costing Rs.7.5 crores, funded by ASHA (American Schools and Hospitals Abroad), USAID (United States Agency for International Development) and the Christian Medical College, Vellore was commissioned at the CMC Hospital here on Monday.

Mercy Nange, Bureau Environment Officer for ASHA-funded projects, USAID inaugurated the equipment in the presence of Dr. Sunil Chandy, Director and C.E. Eapen, Medical Superintendent of CMC.

According to a CMC release, the High End CT Scanner is the world’s first high definition CT scanner which uses a newly developed unique `gemstone’ detector with primary speed up to 100 times faster than the currently available detectors in the industry.

It facilitates CT coronary angiography, a non-invasive method of imaging heart vessels. The scanner captures an image while the heart is still beating.

This technique makes it possible for the patients to be assessed in less than a minute.

The other services which the new equipment provides include triple assessment of the aorta, coronary and pulmonary arteries which can be done simultaneously in patients with acute chest pain, comprehensive cardiac CT which is performed for paediatric patients with congenital cardiac anomalies to provide sufficient anatomic information for pre-operative planning, and vascular imaging studies to provide robust information for the management of various diseases like aneurysms and stenosis.

Complex surgeries

The 3D reconstructions obtained through the scanner will help in planning complex surgeries and interventional procedures. Calcium subtraction can be performed to visualize the true lumen of heavily calcified vessels which otherwise could not be evaluated using CT angiography.

The scanner helps in reduction of metal-induced artifacts using gemstone technology, thereby providing accurate evaluation of post-operative cases. Using advanced image enhancement, the amount of contrast required for each study has been reduced.

This reduces the cost of the study for the institution and the side effects of contrast administration for patients.

A large amount of research work can be done using this new equipment, especially to study the effects of atherosclerosis in India.

Neurology, neurosurgery, cardiothoracic and vascular surgeries are among the specialities which will be benefited from high end imaging.

The scanner uses a newly developed unique `gemstone’ detector

It facilitates non-invasive method of imaging heart vessels