Daily News of Kingsport TN
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64-Slice CT Scanner
Mountain View adds new lifesaving technology
Mountain View Regional recently installed a Philips Brilliance 64-Slice CT scanner, providing patients easy access to cutting-edge diagnostic medicine at their community hospital. With a 64-slice CT scanner, physicians can perform non-invasive screenings for early detection of such physical abnormalities as heart disease, lung cancer and colon cancer.
Mountain View Regional is the only hospital in Wise County that offers patients 64-slice CT technology in their own community.
“We’re determined to give the physicians at Mountain View Regional the most advanced diagnostic tools available, and 64-slice CT imaging is a major part of that initiative,” said David Brash, the hospital’s president. “This kind of technology will provide peace of mind to patients because their physicians have the best medical tools at their disposal. And it’s important to the physicians at Mountain View Regional, too, because they believe their patients deserve the most advanced technology, right here at home.”
Philips Brilliance CT provides crisp, detailed images of the body in just seconds. The crystalline detail allows physicians to spot physical abnormalities – such as signs of heart disease, blood clots, tumors and cysts – that might otherwise be hidden or appear blurry using less sophisticated scanning technology.
With 64-slice CT, physicians can see fine anatomical details that could reveal infections, blood diseases, blood clots, and cancers of the kidney, lung, liver, colon and spine.
“The benefit of a 64-slice CT is readily apparent – quicker diagnosis means our physician team can provide the quickest treatment with the highest degree of confidence,” said Dr. Kathleen DePonte, a board-certified radiologist who is medical director of the radiology department at Mountain View Regional. “I’m excited about what this means for our hospital, and for everyone in the community who depends on us for their health care.”
The Brilliance CT marries the most sophisticated scanning technology with concerns for patient safety and comfort. The Philips scanner utilizes a feature called DoseWise that reduces the amount of radiation needed to a minimum without sacrificing imaging quality.
During a CT scan, a patient lies on an exam table and is slowly moved into a large, doughnut-shaped opening – made larger on the Brilliance CT for added patient comfort. Once the patient is inside, precision X-rays create hundreds of cross-sectional pictures that create “slices” of the human body. In mere seconds, the system’s computer assembles those slices into three-dimensional images for diagnosis by a clinician.
The advantages of 64-slice CT technology will be especially relevant in the cardiovascular realm. Heart disease is the No. 1 killer of adults in the United States, and 64-slice images will reveal to physicians an incredible level of detail regarding a patient’s heart and coronary arteries.
“When you’re battling heart disease, no factor is more important to the physician than early detection,” said Dr. Anilkumar Joshi, a board-certified cardiologist at Mountain View Regional. “Early detection of heart disease increases the available treatment options, and allows patients to make lifestyle changes that can help alter the course of the disease.”
Dr. Francis Jaynal, an internist and cardiologist who practices at Mountain View Regional, said the importance of precision and detail in medical imaging can’t be underestimated.
“Every physician wants to make the most definitive diagnosis possible, and 64-slice images show us the inner workings of the body in great detail,” Dr. Jaynal said. “It’s potentially lifesaving technology.”
The Brilliance 64-slice CT scanner features an open feel for added patient comfort.