Capable of capturing movements of the heart in as few as five beats, a new Computed Tomography scanner promises to maintain high-quality images as well as reduce a patient's exposure to radiation by 70 per cent.
The CT scanner, launched in Chicago on Monday by GE, Healthcare, a division of the General Electric, will be a huge help for countries like India, which have a large population suffering from heart ailments.
"The Light Speed scanner, CT XT, provides clarity, additional information and helps to generate confident physician diagnoses while reducing radiation exposure," Gene Saragnese, Vice-President and General Manager of GE Healthcare's CT and Molecular Imaging Business, told media persons.
In the usual cardiac exams, the X-ray is on for the duration of a scan, even during periods when a patient's heart is at an undesirable phase, but with this CT scanner there is an automated response to a patient's heart rate, which ensures that the X-ray is only on for the portions of a scan, he said.
"It captures the images of the heart and coronary arteries in as few as five heartbeats," he said.
According to Shrinivas B Desai, Director Department of Imaging and Interventional Radiology in Jaslok Hospital in Mumbai, the CT scan could be of great use for India. World Health Organisation figures say India will have 60 million cardiac patients by 2015.
"Radiation is a big issue