CT Scan
Cardiac Care’s Newest Generation of CT Scanner
Aids in Diagnosing Heart Disease in Seconds
Within Five Heart Beats This Breakthrough Technology
Performs Outpatient Diagnoses of Heart Disease
As part of its commitment to the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease, the Cardiac Care is offering cardiovascular 64 slice CT scans for calcium testing to the general public (the calcium score test is a non-contrast study and does not include other testing which requires a physician referral). The valley’s only GE Light Speed 64 Slice CT Scanner can produce a heart calcium score in just 15 seconds, which assists doctors immediately in assessing a patient’s risk of developing coronary artery disease.
Calcium is an indicator of how much plaque is in the heart’s arteries. The more plaque a patient has, the greater likelihood of arterial narrowing, thus increasing a patient’s risk of developing a heart attack. In the absence of having a crystal ball, this test gives us another useful tool for helping identify people at risk for early heart disease.
How It Works
During cardiac calcium scoring, the cylinder part of CT scanner is placed over the patient’s chest. The cylinder can tilt and the X-ray scanning devices within it rotate to obtain the 64 slice views needed. The scanner directs a series of X-rays through the body that are analyzed by a computer to produce a detailed picture of a “slice” of the heart. Each X-ray pulse lasts only a fraction of a second, and it takes only a few seconds for the machine to record each slice. A CT scan provides clearer pictures of internal organs (such as the heart) than regular X-rays.
Images of Heart and Arteries Captured in Five Heart Beats
In addition, the new GE Light Speed Volume Computed Tomography (VCT) Scanner, creates a 3D picture of the inside of a patient’s body, giving doctors a much clearer and immediate view of the heart and blood vessels.
The LightSpeed VCT, the world’s first volume CT system, enables cardiologists to capture 3-dimensional images of the heart and coronary arteries in just five heart beats -something no other CT system can offer. The LightSpeed VCT is able to take 64 slice “credit card-thin” images of the body’s organs in less than 10 seconds in a single rotation. Most common CT scanners are capable of taking only 16 slice images.
“The difference with this new technology is phenomenal,” said Dr. Edward B. Diethrich, founder and medical director of the Arizona Heart Institute and hospital. “The incredible images created by the new GE CT scanner will allow us to take a better look at our patients internal organs with very little discomfort within minutes.”
The new scanner emphasizes a new level of patient comfort. Testing is performed as an outpatient service; it takes seconds to produce images and uses a very low amount of contrast. The results provide physician’s dynamic imagery that is four times more detailed than standard CT scanners. The scanner captures images in five heartbeats and has the capability to scan the whole vascular system.
Heart motion has historically made CT cardiovascular scans challenging and prone to blurring. Due to its speed, the LightSpeed VCT is enabling physicians to secure extremely high-quality images of coronary arteries at sub millimeter resolution in only five beats of the heart. This enables a fast and less-invasive diagnostic evaluation of arterial stenosis.