by
Keith Loria, Reporter | February 04, 2010
Toshiba's Aquilion ONE
is ideal for pediatric imaging.
That's why in 2007, Toshiba came out with the Aquilion ONE, the world's only CT system that can image an entire organ, such as the heart or brain, in a single X-ray rotation and show dynamic function, like blood flow and movement.
"It collects all the data it needs in .35 seconds, where a conventional CT can take 3 to 4 seconds," Young says. "When you're talking about a crying baby, 3 to 4 seconds isn't fast enough."
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The Aquilion ONE's rapid acquisition time also exposes patients to less radiation and reduces radiation exposure by up to 80 percent, providing safer pediatric exams.
"One of the challenges with children, is often you have to sedate them and that has a risk," Young says. "If you can avoid sedating a child, it's better. We have been able to really reduce the need of sedation because of this [faster scanning]."
The equipment can be outfitted with decals that are custom-made featuring an underwater or jungle theme that creates a friendly room atmosphere for the children,
"We also have a mini-CT model with a stuffed animal on it to show them what to do," Young says. "We even have a display of cartoons above the scanner of a monkey holding his breath, so it's really brought down to their level. For the parents who were already stressed, we are tying to make their child as comfortable as possible."
Help with MRIs
While some companies have designed quieter MRIs with children in mind, the main thing that pediatric hospitals do is coming up with creative ways to keep a child from moving while inside.
"When you have an MRI scan you have to lie in a very long tube and not move for 30 minutes to an hour. So with children, that presents a whole new challenge," says Shannon Bozeman, RT(R) in the pediatric diagnostic imaging program at Nashville, Tenn.-based Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt. "We offer CinemaVision. They wear goggles and kids can watch TV or a movie while they are laying there and it definitely helps with the anxiety level. It can make a real difference in keeping them still so you don't have to sedate them."
The system includes headgear, goggles and cords, contains no metal parts that could be drawn into the MRI magnet, and allows the staff to communicate with patients through the headphones and a microphone on the patient's headset.
