By Laura Lane
The Somatom Multi-Slice CT Scanner from Siemens Medical Systems Inc. improves diagnosis and treatment of patients by providing the finest image quality and advanced clinical applications. This is due to the multi-slice CT design.
Dr. David Weltman, the associate chairman of radiology at NUMC and director of Body CT scans, said the speed of the machine allows radiologists to take 16 slices simultaneously, compared with other machines that take one at a time. Thanks to this machine, a test that used to take half an hour, he said, now takes only five minutes.
"Insofar as the time frame is concerned, the patients probably won't notice much of a change, but the turnover time is quicker, and the quality of the exam itself is greatly improved," Weltman said. "We can do scans now that we could not do before."
NUMC receives more than 82,000 emergency room visits per year. Weltman sees the new CT machine, which is near the ER, as especially beneficial for trauma patients.
"Trauma was the main reason why we bought it," Weltman said. "Before, we had to take a patient to the second floor to get a CT scan. Now physicians can make a determination on the spot as to where a patient needs to go, like the intensive care unit, and will be able to better assess what procedures the patient will need."
The new CT scan is also being used for routine testing. "It provides us with outstanding diagnostic information by enabling us to perform Spiral CT on a routine basis," said Richard B. Turan, president and CEO of the Nassau Health Care Corporation. "For example, we can scan geriatric, pediatric and trauma patients in a single breath-hold, which results in more accurate diagnosis while also reducing examination time and increasing patient comfort."
And the new CT scanner can make certain tests less uncomfortable. With it, NUMC is currently performing virtual colonoscopies. Weltman believes the non-invasive nature of this procedure will encourage more people to get checked for colon cancer. The hospital is also performing non-invasive angiographies, which can sometimes replace angiograms.
"The machine is amazing. We are now learning what we can use it for," Weltman said. "I'm learning every day how to use it to its best advantage."
Weltman has also gone to colleagues throughout the hospital to introduce the new machine. He is committed to encouraging them to recommend their patients to have their testing done on the scanner. "The images from the machine are three-dimensional and are so superior," he says. "Someone who isn't a radiologist can get an understanding of the picture. This is nice for the patient, since a doctor can better explain what is going on with them and will better understand what is wrong."
NUMC also hopes to reach out to community doctors. "We would like to benefit the community as a whole by making the community doctors aware of this," said Shelley Lotenberg, the hospital's director of public affairs. "We hope they will refer patients here for a CT scan."
