Dual Source CT Scanner
the SOMATOM Definition™
Your heart is about to be seen in a whole new light. A light that obtains three-dimensional images unlike any ever seen. A light that obtains three-dimensional images in seconds. Not minutes. Not hours. Seconds. The world of cardiac care is about to change forever. And this new world of better, faster and more advanced cardiac care will be brought to you by Hackley Hospital, the area’s only Accredited Chest Pain Center and the only place in west Michigan where you will find the Somatom Definition Dual Source CT Scanner.
Each year approximately 5 million Americans visit the ER with acute chest pain, resulting in 2 million hospital admissions. Only a fraction of these patients are found to have a serious heart condition. The Definiton Dual Source CT Scanner now available at Hackley Hospital, enables physicians to rapidly and accurately diagnose patients in this acute care situation, thereby protecting patients from further unneccessary and often invasive testing, and creating an environment for rapid treatment of serious conditions.
The Siemens SOMATOM Definition™ Dual Source CT Scanner is the fastest, least invasive scanner in the world. It produces the most detailed CT images and exposes the patient to the least amount of radiation. Only Hackley Hospital offers the lakeshore this cutting edge technology.
CT, or computed tomography, systems have given physicians the ability to see inside the human body. By using x-ray and computer technology, a three dimensional image of the anatomy is created. Until now, the clarity of this image has been measured in “slices,” cross-sectional images of a patient's body. The most advanced single source scanners can produce up to 64 slices.
But Hackley is able to go beyond the slices. The dual-source capability provides results that are unprecedented in image quality. With startling clarity, it reveals extraordinary details about the health of the heart and its blood vessels. The images from the SOMATOM Definition CT Scanner can further characterize and distinguish plaque, an early indicator of heart disease. For patients, this means earlier detection of coronary heart disease, enabling treatment to begin at a stage when it can be most effective.
These images of amazing quality are created in seconds, during a single breath-hold. The clarity and detail of traditional CT scans are often compromised by the beating heart. Similar to taking a photo of a moving subject, the image is often blurred. To get a clearer picture, some patients have to take medications, called beta blockers, to slow the beating of the heart. No beta blockers are needed with the Somatom Definition. This unpredented technology captures a detailed cardiac image in a fraction of a second by freeze-framing a beating heart. By using two X-ray sources and two detectors, images are created at twice the resolution and twice the speed compared to the most advanced CT technology available elsewhere.
The SOMATOM Definition scanner enables the doctors at Hackley to bring the benefits of advanced CT scanning to nearly any patient regardless of condition or heart rate. The dual source scanner even allows physicians to perform cardiac exams of patients with irregular heartbeats or arrhythmia - without the use of beta blockers.
Prior to the Dual Source CT Scanner, many patients have not been eligible for CT exams. These include patients who cannot take beta blocker medications to slow their heart rates. Because beta blockers can narrow the air passages in the lungs, patients who have breathing conditions like asthma, chronic bronchitis or emphysema cannot take them. In addition to excluding some patients from the benefits of CT technology, beta blockers also take time to take effect - up to 60 minutes - thus delaying diagnosis in acute care situations when seconds count.
Other patients have not been eligible for CT exams due to obesity. These patients are either too large to fit comfortably into traditional CT scanner or the clarity of the image is compromised. The Definition Dual Source CT Scanner is larger than other scanners, accommodating patients up to 400 lbs. and powerful enough to examine obese patients.
While the Definition Dual Source scanner is twice as powerful, the increased speed allows for a reduction in radiation exposure up to 50% less than current CT technology. The Definition uses special software that automatically selects the fastest possible scan speed for the patient. The specialized software adjusts the X-ray exposure based on the patient's heart rate, thus minimizing radiation to the lowest dose. The dual-source CT scan can be completed in four or five seconds.
Faster. Safer. Better. Hackley’s introduction of dual-source CT technology to the lakeshore will truly change cardiac care forever.
