RUMFORD – Rumford Hospital’s Radiology Department has had a new CT scanner installed, replacing one that was seven years old. “The differences between the old CT scanner and the new is more like the difference between driving a model T or a new Porsche,” said Gale Hill, radiology manager.

Lead CT Technologist Judy Conrad said a scan of a patient’s head took 15 minutes with the old equipment. Now it takes five. The same relative times apply to kidney stone studies. “That’s really an advantage to patients,” Conrad said. “For a lot of people it’s very difficult to hold perfectly still for any period of time.”

There are several reasons for the cuts in time. First, the new scanner takes six “slices,” or views, in one revolution. Those views can be manipulated by the technologist after the patient leaves the CT scan room, rather than while he is on the table.

Finally, the technologist can adjust the angle of the scanner remotely from her console, rather than directly on the unit itself, so no time is wasted walking from console to scanner and back.

Conrad uses the example of someone with an ankle injury to illustrate how vital the new CT scanner is. In the past the patient needed to move to three different positions to ensure a complete picture for the physician. With the new CT scanner, one quick scan and the technologist manipulates the results to provide a complete picture.

“Some patients simply couldn’t move because of the nature of their injury or a cast,” said Conrad, “so we couldn’t get a complete picture. Now we can.”

The technologists can produce a three-dimensional image with the new scanner, a boon to surgeons who can view it and know what they will see when they operate. It can measure a kidney stone and pinpoint its exact location.

The new CT scanner also has a sensor that constantly reads the thickness of the body part it is scanning and makes adjustments in the amount of radiation as needed – a safeguard to over-exposure. Another patient-friendly feature is the bed, which moves closer to the floor so it is easier to get onto. The bed is wider, too, so patients feel more secure.

“Oncology and trauma patients are the heaviest users of the CT scanner,” said Conrad. The Radiology Department does many initial and follow-up studies to track the progress of cancer treatment. “When you say trauma,’ most people think car accident’,” said Conrad, “but we get everything from a kid who’s fallen off playground equipment, to a man hurt on a machine at a mill, to an elderly woman whose fallen on steps.”

The CT scanner uses include to view and measure kidney stones, to seek the causes of seizure activity in patients’ brains, to image broken bones, to check for liver and spleen damage or rupture, to search for the cause of back pain and to check for blood clots in the lungs.

“Sometimes, the doctor will order an X-ray first, then turn to the CT scanner for a better view or to search for a cause of symptoms that’s not revealed by an X-ray,” explains Conrad.

Conrad attended seminars given by the scanner maker, Siemens, to learn the capabilities of the new machine; and she and three other technologists spent a week at the hospital learning how to operate the scanner with a specialist from the company.