From the December 2014 issue of HealthCare Business News magazine


They also have to schedule a time that the radiology department is not using the CT. Sometimes they even suspend regular patient imaging because they are anticipating a patient from the ICU. Even though many facilities are interested in installing a CT in their ICU, not all of them can afford it. Right now, the large academic hospitals are the most likely to make that kind of a purchase.

But Siemens is trying to change that with the introduction of their SOMATOM Scope CT, which received FDA approval in September. It has a space requirement of 130.2 square feet and the company claims it is the smallest 16-slice fixed CT system on the market today. Siemens also describes the system as “very attractively priced” and on par with the refurbished 16-slice CT scanners sold today.


They were able to price it that way since they built it on a lot of the technology that they already developed for their high-end systems. It include Siemens’ Iterative Reconstruction in Image Space technology that speeds up the image reconstruction and reduces noise and artifacts, their Adaptive Signal Boost technology that amplifies low signals when there is high attenuation and the Fully Assisting Scanner Technology and Combined Applications to Reduce Exposure applications to reduce radiation exposure and standardize the CT imaging process.

It also includes their eCockpit technology that reduces the wear and tear on the system by optimizing scan parameters, putting it into hibernation mode if it’s idle and warming up the X-ray tubes so there isn’t a substantial jump in temperature when it’s powered up for a procedure.

Until the Scope was introduced, the only CT available to the ICU were either expensive, high-end systems or portable scanners. The portable scanners are more affordable, but the majority of them are only designed to provide head imaging and most ICUs want to be able to perform head, chest and abdomen imaging.

One of the exceptions is Neurologica’s BodyTom, which received FDA approval in 2011. The system is one of the portable CT scanners that can do full body imaging in the ICU. It’s a 32-slice CT with an 85 centimeter gantry and 60 centimeter field of view.

Unlike fixed CT, the BodyTom has a lower installation cost since construction or buildout is not required. Staff members can also move it with ease to and from the ICU, operating room, emergency department and radiology department.

Reducing complications
One of the major complications in the ICU today is ventilator induced lung injury (VILI) — 24 percent of all patients who are mechanically ventilated will develop VILI. It occurs when too much volume or pressure is delivered.

December 2014 Magazine

Read more stories from the December 2014 issue

More Magazine Features

More Industry Headlines