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New CT Scanner:
Fast, Accurate and Convenient

New technology at Nevada Regional Medical Center gives patients faster, more accurate diagnoses. NRMC has added the Toshiba Aquilion 16-Slice CT scanner to its diagnostic imaging technology. The new scanner drops imaging exam times from 30 minutes to just seconds.

For trauma patients, such as auto accident victims, this technology can be lifesaving by providing better, more precise images of bones, organs and internal bleeding, explains Gary Headrick, director of diagnostic imaging at NRMC. For patients with blood clots, infections and diseases such as cancer, early diagnosis with the Aquilion can result in more effective treatment, he says.

The Aquilion CT scanner uses X-ray technology to capture multi-slice images that are put into 3-D images by a computer. This allows the radiologist to see more than a regular X-ray would provide. The radiologist can see soft tissue such as muscles, organs and fat, as well as bones and blood vessels — all in one single image.

During a CT scan, a patient lies on the table and is slowly moved into the large doughnut-shaped opening of the scanner.
Once inside, a series of X-ray beams creates hundreds of cross-sectional pictures that represent slices of the patient’s body. Seconds later, the computer puts these pictures together into 3-D images for the radiologist to read. The Aquilion scanner can rotate around a patient’s body in only half a second.

Studies such as chest exams, which used to take 20 to 30 minutes to perform, can now be completed in just 20 seconds at NRMC. A quicker exam time is more comfortable for the patient and enables NRMC to treat more patients faster. “We are looking toward the future all the time,” says Headrick.

“The amount of information the 16-Slice CT scanner gives us only improves the quality of service we provide our patients.”