In A Flash: New Flash CT Reduces Radiation Dose By Up To 90%

Main Category: Radiology / Nuclear Medicine
Also Included In: MRI / PET / Ultrasound
Article Date: 19 Nov 2009 - 3:00 PST

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NYU Langone Medical Center is the first hospital in the Northeast to offer one of the world's fastest and most radiation dose efficient computed tomography (CT) scanner. The Siemens SOMATOM Definition Flash can image ten times as fast as other clinical units, with an up to 90% dose reduction in radiation compared to conventional imaging. The scanner's dual source technology allows NYU Langone Medical Center to provide new levels of patient care, especially for trauma, pediatric, cancer and cardiac patients.

"The new CT scanner allows us to produce high quality diagnostic images in the least amount of time and with the least amount of radiation," said Michael Recht, MD, the Louis Marx Professor of Radiology and chair of the Department of Radiology at NYU Langone Medical Center. "NYU Langone Medical Center already offers advanced low-dose technology, but now with Flash CT, we are thrilled to be able to offer our patients some of the most advanced technology in the world, combined with the unmatched expertise of our radiologists."

With its two rotating x-ray tubes, the Flash CT's enhanced speed and power allows children and overweight adults to be screened more effectively. Flash CT also turns off the radiation when it comes close to sensitive tissue areas of the body such as the thyroid gland or breasts, or lens of the eye. It also eliminates the need for a baseline scan prior to iodine injection, so the patient does not have to be scanned twice. Because of its speed, patients do not need to hold their breath, lay completely still during an exam or take a beta blocker to slow the speed of the heart to get clear images. Pediatric patients benefit because they don't have to be sedated during the procedure.

"The Dual Energy technology of the new Flash CT provides higher contrast between normal and abnormal tissues making it easier to see abnormalities while reducing radiation" said Alec. J. Megibow, MD, MPH, FACR, professor of radiology at NYU Langone Medical Center. "Because we can now analyze findings by chemical composition, we predict that the unique information from this scanner may also better able predict which patients will have the best response to a proposed treatment regimen."

About NYU Langone Medical Center

NYU Langone Medical Center is one of the nation's premier centers of excellence in healthcare, biomedical research, and medical education. For over 168 years, NYU physicians and researchers have made countless contributions to the practice and science of health care. Today the Medical Center consists of NYU School of Medicine, including the Smilow Research Center, the Skirball Institute of Biomolecular Medicine, and the Sackler Institute of Graduate Biomedical Sciences; the three hospitals of NYU Hospitals Center, Tisch Hospital, a 705-bed acute-care general hospital, Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine, the first and largest facility of its kind, and NYU Hospital for Joint Diseases, a leader in musculoskeletal care; and such major programs as the NYU Cancer Institute, the NYU Child Study Center, and the Hassenfeld Children's Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders.

Source: New York University Langone Medical Center