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SAVING LIVES JUST GOT FASTER; A NEW CT SCANNER AT FLORIDA HOSPITAL WATERMAN LETS DOCTORS QUICKLY SEE WHAT AILS YOU.
Orlando Sentinel
EUSTIS -- A deep, slow, computerized male voice told Tommie Witt exactly what to do.
"Breathe in."
"Hold your breath."
A soft whir was all that could be heard as a million-dollar CT scanner beamed rays of red light and took detailed, three-dimensional photographs of her lungs.
Florida Hospital Waterman in Eustis now has the fastest scanner around.
The LightSpeed Plus CT scan can image the whole body from head to pelvis in one minute. A cardiac feature can detect the amount of plaque in the arteries, which can predict a patient's risk of a future heart attack.
The staff has been up to speed on the new scanner for about a month. Diagnostic imaging is becoming the best noninvasive way to see inside the body. Originally developed in the 1970s, CT or "CAT" scans combine the power of X-ray technology and computers, allowing physicians to view wafer-thin cross sections inside the body without the need for surgery.
GE Medical Systems manufacturers the LightSpeed scanner, which can produce images in 20 seconds vs. the several minutes that older CT scans require. That's why physicians at Waterman have put the new scanner just seconds from the emergency room.
"In many cases, emergency room physicians rely on images from the CT scanner to assess the extent of internal injuries during the 'golden hour,' " said Dr. Fred Wittenstein, chief of radiology at Waterman.
The "golden hour" is the first, and most critical, hour after a trauma has occurred.
"Reducing the scan time by a few minutes or more can allow ER physicians to begin treating the patient more quickly," Wittenstein said.
The LightSpeed scanner produces clearer pictures, which helps in diagnosing cancer, spinal injuries and pediatric conditions and in detecting life-threatening blood clots.
If the body were a loaf of bread, the LightSpeed scanner takes "four slices instead of one slice," said Keith Terrill, diagnostic services manager at Waterman.
Patients must remain motionless during CT scans, and previously that meant several sessions of holding their breath, sometimes as long as 30 seconds, depending on which part of the body was being scanned.
The speed of the new scanner means patients don't have to hold their breath as long, and the shorter scan times reduce patient anxiety, especially in children.
Terrill said the hospital performs an average of 30 CT scans a day, but sometimes as many as 60 in 24 hours.
Witt, 51, only knew one thing about the high-tech equipment before entering the scanner.
"It's going to be really, really fast," she said.
Veronica Meldrum, a CT-scan technician, said some patients who have had a LightSpeed scan have also been scanned by the older equipment.
"They say, 'Was that it?' " she said.
SAVING LIVES JUST GOT FASTER; A NEW CT SCANNER AT FLORIDA HOSPITAL WATERMAN LETS DOCTORS QUICKLY SEE WHAT AILS YOU.
Orlando Sentinel
EUSTIS -- A deep, slow, computerized male voice told Tommie Witt exactly what to do.
"Breathe in."
"Hold your breath."
A soft whir was all that could be heard as a million-dollar CT scanner beamed rays of red light and took detailed, three-dimensional photographs of her lungs.
Florida Hospital Waterman in Eustis now has the fastest scanner around.
The LightSpeed Plus CT scan can image the whole body from head to pelvis in one minute. A cardiac feature can detect the amount of plaque in the arteries, which can predict a patient's risk of a future heart attack.
The staff has been up to speed on the new scanner for about a month. Diagnostic imaging is becoming the best noninvasive way to see inside the body. Originally developed in the 1970s, CT or "CAT" scans combine the power of X-ray technology and computers, allowing physicians to view wafer-thin cross sections inside the body without the need for surgery.
GE Medical Systems manufacturers the LightSpeed scanner, which can produce images in 20 seconds vs. the several minutes that older CT scans require. That's why physicians at Waterman have put the new scanner just seconds from the emergency room.
"In many cases, emergency room physicians rely on images from the CT scanner to assess the extent of internal injuries during the 'golden hour,' " said Dr. Fred Wittenstein, chief of radiology at Waterman.
The "golden hour" is the first, and most critical, hour after a trauma has occurred.
"Reducing the scan time by a few minutes or more can allow ER physicians to begin treating the patient more quickly," Wittenstein said.
The LightSpeed scanner produces clearer pictures, which helps in diagnosing cancer, spinal injuries and pediatric conditions and in detecting life-threatening blood clots.
If the body were a loaf of bread, the LightSpeed scanner takes "four slices instead of one slice," said Keith Terrill, diagnostic services manager at Waterman.
Patients must remain motionless during CT scans, and previously that meant several sessions of holding their breath, sometimes as long as 30 seconds, depending on which part of the body was being scanned.
The speed of the new scanner means patients don't have to hold their breath as long, and the shorter scan times reduce patient anxiety, especially in children.
Terrill said the hospital performs an average of 30 CT scans a day, but sometimes as many as 60 in 24 hours.
Witt, 51, only knew one thing about the high-tech equipment before entering the scanner.
"It's going to be really, really fast," she said.
Veronica Meldrum, a CT-scan technician, said some patients who have had a LightSpeed scan have also been scanned by the older equipment.
"They say, 'Was that it?' " she said.