August 5, 2015 — Physicians at Southwest Diagnostic Imaging Center (SWDIC) in Dallas are now able to provide high-definition (HD) computed tomography (CT) images and lower radiation doses thanks to the recent arrival of a new CT system. Patients are already benefiting from the advanced technology of GE Healthcare’s Revolution GSI.
“The decision to acquire these scanners was an easy one,” said Clint Hamilton, M.D. “This technology will allow us to continue to reduce radiation dose to our patients, and maintain our high image quality. It will increase our patient workflow and help reduce patient wait times. The dual energy capability can also help us to scan individual patients fewer times.”
Clinicians at SWDIC are also seeing benefits for patients with implants. “Hardware implants are a common finding with current spine surgery practices,” said David Kilgore, radiologist at SWDIC. “The dual energy feature has made a significant impact on reducing metal artifacts, therefore improving image quality and enabling a more confident diagnosis.”
Today, more than 81 million CT scans are done in the United States per year, providing tremendous clinical value in helping physicians reach a fast diagnosis across a wide range of applications. CT is a non-invasive and expedient way to look inside the body at organs, soft tissues, vascular structures and bones using X-rays to generate high-resolution images of the body. It does this by rotating an X-ray source and detector around the patient as the patient is moved through the device.
Equipped with GE Healthcare’s proprietary Gemstone detector and ASiR (Adaptive Statistical Iterative Reconstruction) technology, physicians at Southwest Diagnostic Imaging Center will be able to provide accurate CT scans at a reduced radiation dose. Furthermore, clinicians can help reduce patient anxiety as:
GE Healthcare’s Xtream display allows the CT staff to spend more time with the patient and less time outside of the scan room;
Faster scanning speeds allow for shorter exam times.
Additionally, Revolution GSI has a fast energy switching technology called Gemstone Spectral Imaging (GSI) that enables data sampling rates at different energies as fast as 0.25msec. This enables SWDIC’s physicians to deliver more personalize care for each patient. Some of the benefits may include:
Characterization of pathology;
Better contrast enhancement, allowing physicians to optimize contrast for each patient; and
Reductions in traditional CT image artifacts, which sometimes led to sub- optimal exams for physicians to read.
For more information: www.gehealthcare.com