Benefits 128 Slice Cardiac CT Scan Equipment
K.G. Hospital Chairman G. Bakthavathsalam (left) explaining the benefits of using the 128 slice cardiac CT scan equipment, at his hospital in Coimbatore. Images in real time, precise location of the problem zone and less time spent on diagnosis are the benefits of advances in imaging technology, the Chairman of the K.G. Hospital in Coimbatore, G. Bakthavathsalam, says. One of the major gains from technological advance is the 128 slice cardiac computed tomography (CT) scanner, he points out. “A patient’s heart can be scanned in just four seconds. People had said it would not be possible, until Siemens developed the equipment,” he says, explaining the features of the 128 slice scanner commissioned recently in his hospital. A major benefit from this technology is in the area of preventive cardiology, says Dr. Bakthavathsalam. People working in stressful conditions, and having a lifestyle that invites heart problems, will benefit from precision imaging. The scanner will help in even predicting a heart attack in such persons.
It can spot the narrowing of a blood vessel and put them on diet modification to prevent a heart attack. “It can spot the lurking disease terrorist in persons whose lifestyle or genetic factors can bring about heart problems,” he says. On precision imaging, Dr. Bakthavathsalam says: “Now, I can give a patient a definite diagnosis. An electrocardiogram or an echo cardiograph cannot give the precise location of the blocks in the blood vessels in the heart.”
What makes the scanner different from the conventional cathlab angiogram is that only a dye needs to be injected. A catheter need not be passed through the vein of a patient to take images of the heart. “A cathlab has an operation theatre impact on a patient, as angiogram is an invasive procedure. The 128 slice scanner does not have this effect as the patient is put on it for only four seconds.” Dr. Bakthavathsalam says its applications do not end with the heart. It can scan the brain and neck to detect problems such as tumour or blocks in blood vessels. It is used to check for blocks in blood vessels to the brain or legs and can be used for a whole body scan for accident victims.
