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“Gold Standard” CT Scanning Certain imaging techniques, such as CT scanning, have become the gold standard for effectively diagnosing and optimizing treatment for patients with cancer. During 2006-07, FirstHealth of the Carolinas enhanced its imaging technology with the addition of a new 64-slice CT scanner. This technology produces precise diagnostic pictures within five to 10 seconds, enabling one to “freeze” motion and better define certain disease processes. For patients with specific symptoms, the scanner may eliminate the need for more invasive testing. FirstHealth has also upgraded the single-slice CT available for use in radiation treatment planning to a fourslice scanner. The improved scanner provides clearer images more quickly than earlier models. To obtain a CT image, computer-driven machinery passes X-rays through the body, producing digitized signals that are detected and reconstructed. Each X-ray measurement lasts just a fraction of a second and represents a “slice” of an organ or tissue. A computer then uses these slices to reconstruct highly detailed 3-D images of the lungs, prostate, other organs, head, and blood vessels throughout the body. |
