Wednesday, October 31, 2012

5 Things You Should Know About the Extremity CT Scanner


 
The latest development in technology for cameras for sale can be truly astounding. But it can also leave patients wondering why the same advancements aren’t being made in medical imaging. To help give you a better idea of the new developments in medicine, we have decided to focus on the Extremity CT Scanner. The device is promising, and below are five things everyone should know about it.
1. Size – While the standard CT scanner is the size of a room, the new Extremity CT Scanner is far smaller. In fact, the seat itself is one of the largest parts of the scanner. It almost looks like a subway seat with a hole for patients to insert the extremity that needs to be scanned. It’s size also makes it easily transportable onto a van or truck for use in mobile clinics.
2. Uses – As implied by the name, the Extremity CT Scanner is intended to scan an extremity such as an arm or leg. Using this type of CT scanner is vastly superior to using a traditional CT scanner, because it can be done at a fraction of the cost and without the patient having to lie on the bed of a huge machine.
3. Anti-radiation – Whereas current CT scanners use contrast and radiation to get their images, this machine works using cone beam technology. It involves short x-ray pulses that are not only safer, but faster than the traditional CT scanning technology. The radiation used with the Extremity X-Ray Scanner is about a tenth of what a traditional CT machine uses.
4. Speed – As anyone who has had a CT scan knows, it isn’t something you can schedule on your lunch break. By the time you check in, change into a gown, answer a bunch of questions, have the IV hooked up, and go through the CT machine, it can be quite a long process. But the Extremity CT Scanner is different. In fact, scanning takes about 20 seconds instead of the 10 to 20 minutes that a normal CT scan can take with no need for an IV.
5. 3D – Because everything is in 3D nowadays, so too is this imaging. The Extremity X-Ray Scanner machine can be easily adjusted to get images of the foot, knee, ankle, hand, wrist, elbow, or other.
Casey Roberts is a student and also writes for the online magazine Radiology Assistant, which helps students find the right radiology degree.

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