Worst still, a majority of radiologists and emergency-room physicians may not appreciate that CT scans are likely to increase the lifetime risk of cancer.

The researchers suggest three strategies for proactively addressing the potential increased radiation risk associated with CT scans:


1. Reduce the CT-related radiation dose in individual patients.
2. Replace CT use, when appropriate with other options that have no radiation risk, such as ultra sound or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
3. Decrease the total number of CT scans prescribed.

Technology to the Rescue?

The significant strength in the Toshiba American Medical Systems 320-Detector CT, Aquilion ONE, as the name implies, is its one-dose feature, reducing diagnosis time for life-threatening diseases such as stroke and heart disease from days and hours to mere minutes.

Called the world's first dynamic volume computed system, the Aquilion ONE allows physicians to see not only a three-dimensional depiction of an organ, but also the organ's dynamic blood flow and function-such as a heart or brain---in one ultra high single rotation.

The two-metric ton (4,400 pound) device can measure subtle changes in blood flow or minute blockages forming in blood vessels no bigger than a toothpick. Ten years in development, and priced between $2 and $3 million, the scanner has been installed and is in operation at The Johns Hopkins Hospital and Brigham and Women's Hospital.

GE Technologies

Also at the RSNA, GE's new Gemstone Detector showcased its advanced High-Definition CT technology. Believing that merely adding more slices or X-ray sources does nothing to improve image clarity, GE engineers and scientists are working to completely revamp the entire CT imaging chain--from X-ray tube through the detector and data acquisition."

GE's new scintillator material is 98 percent garnet and 2 percent rare-earths. GE based its new technology on the brilliant garnet gemstone because of its unique optical properties. When modified and enhanced, the "GE Gemstone CT" detector provides significant improvement in X-ray conversion speed and other properties required to support step-function improvements in special resolution.

Still under development, GE has not announced its cost or market availability.

In the here and now, GE offers many technologies to reduce patient dose with equal or improved image quality. GE's VCT-XT is the first-ever computed tomography (CT) scanner to quickly capture high quality, accurate images while reducing a patient's exposure to radiation by 83 percent. This new technology is capable of capturing images of the heart and coronary arteries in as few as five

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