Our Technology
Saint Alphonsus Brings
64-Slice CT Technology to the Treasure
Valley
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It was only a decade ago when multi-slice CT technology entered the market. Now, with the advent of 64-slice scanners, Saint Alphonsus is proud to announce it is one of the first sites in the nation to acquire Toshiba's Aquilion 64-slice CT. Along with this honor, Saint Alphonsus was the first to provide 64-slice capabilities to patients in the Treasure Valley.
This state-of-the-art scanning technology provides increased scanning speed, with 0.5mm slices, and improved temporal resolution, which results in the ability to freeze motion. The outcome provides patients with a quicker, more accurate diagnosis.
CT's Use for Trauma & Emergency
Patients
"CT is already the modality of choice for trauma evaluation," says
Curtis Coulam, MD, Gem State Radiologist at Saint Alphonsus. An emergency room
adult patient can have a full-body scan in approximately 30 seconds; a pediatric
patient can be examined even more quickly, reducing the need for patient sedation
and additional anxiety. "You can apply CT technology to any organ,
determining cause of symptoms or ruling out conditions in a matter of seconds," Coulam
notes.
The advances and increasing adoption have enabled CT technology to continually expand its clinical application throughout healthcare. Saint Alphonsus' 4-slice and 16-slice CT technology has been extremely useful in trauma, orthopaedic and neurological care, and radiologists are also seeing CT's increasing usefulness in cancer detection.
CT's Role in Cardiac Imaging
Now, this new 64-slice CT will make strong advancements in CT angiography,
with cardiac imaging receiving the greatest impact. "With improved
resolution and the ability to virtually freeze motion, the routine noninvasive
evaluation of the coronary arteries is now possible," says Joseph Gobel,
MD, Radiologist at Saint Alphonsus and with Gem State Radiology.
According to Po Huang, MD, Medical Director of the Saint Alphonsus Emergency Department, time is of the essence, especially for patients with chest pain. Doctors need to rule out causes and determine the root of the problem. With the aid of 64-slice CT technology, physicians have the potential to rule out the most life-threatening causes of chest pain with one non-invasive scan.
"Chest pain is a common complaint in the emergency department and physicians need to determine if the cause of the chest pain is life threatening or not," says Huang. "The CT scan has been used to rule out pulmonary embolus and aortic dissection, and now it has the potential to evaluate a patient for coronary artery disease."
"The 64 slice CT can get a full cardiac scan in 10 seconds with one breath hold and one contrast injection." Coulam states. This offers nearly 100% negative predictive value for noninvasive coronary artery evaluation, allowing the physician to rule out coronary artery disease non-invasively. This same scan is also used to evaluate other causes of the patients symptoms such as pulmonary embolism and aortic dissection, commonly referred to as the triple rule out.
"There is no inherent increase radiation dose with the 64 slice CT scanner in comparison to other CT scanners," states Dr. Gobel. "However, radiation exposure of a cardiac CT is greater than an invasive catheter cardiac angiogram. So, radiation exposure should be a consideration in choosing CT versus invasive cath for younger patients, particularly female patients due to breast exposure."
"We now have a test that, in the right patient population, will quickly tell us if a patient has coronary artery disease without an invasive procedure," Huang states. "The question now is which patients are appropriate candidates for the coronary CT."
Preliminary publications support the use of 64 slice CT angiography to rule out coronary artery disease in low risk symptomatic patients with chest pain. This technology is also of use in evaluating patency of bypass grafts and anomalous coronary vessels. Broader use of this exciting technology for evaluation of cardiac disease is expected in the near future, but will await further published peer reviewed literature. In addition, while the 64-slice CT has great diagnostic potential, many insurance companies have not yet approved use of the technology for cardiac testing.
Saint Alphonsus cardiologists, radiologists and emergency physicians are collaborating to develop the appropriate protocols for patients who present with acute chest pain to the ED. "With the aid of this new imaging technology, plus the other initiatives we've implemented to care for cardiac patients in our ED, Saint Alphonsus is establishing the gold standard for cardiac care throughout the Treasure Valley," says Huang.