ANNOUNCING
FIRST TOSHIBA 64-SLICE CT IN REGION
Choose Heart Health Center for your CT,
and experience the difference. Instead of the institutional atmosphere of
a hospital, we offer a patient-friendly environment with emphasis on your
comfort and convenience.
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Comfortable waiting room with flat-screen TV |
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Our
certified CT tech, Geno Brown, restocks the waiting room beverage
center |
What
does the equipment look like?
A CT scanner is a specialized
x-ray machine that looks like a large square doughnut. It has an opening
measuring about two feet in diameter that surrounds a narrow table. Inside
the frame of the scanner is a rotating device with an x-ray tube mounted
on one side and a banana-shaped detector opposite it. CTA
studies use an advanced type of unit called a spiral
CT machine that looks like any
other type of CT unit, but is
able to record a large number of pictures in a short time. This means that
patients do not have to hold their breath for a prolonged period.
How does the procedure work?
Before the actual exam begins, you will have a dose of contrast material
injected into a vein to make the blood vessels stand out. An automatic
injector machine is used that controls the timing and rate of injection,
which may continue during part of the time images are recorded. During the
examination, the rotating device spins around the patient, creating a
fan-shaped beam of x-rays, and the detector takes snapshots of the beam
after it passes through the patient. As many as one thousand of these
pictures may be recorded in one turn of the detector. The real work of
CTA comes after the images are acquired, when powerful
computer programs process the images and make it possible to display them
in different ways, for instance, in cross-sectional slices or as
three-dimensional "casts" of the blood vessels.
How is the procedure performed?
Most of the time for a CTA examination is spent setting
everything up. Actually recording the images takes only seconds. After
having an IV set up, you will answer
questions about things that might complicate the exam (such as allergies)
and then will lie down on a narrow table. The part of your body to be
examined will be placed inside the opening of the
CT unit with the aid of
criss-crossed positioning lights. A test image is taken to
determine the best position, and a small dose of contrast material is
given to see how long it takes to reach the area under study. Then the IV
is hooked up to an automatic injector, contrast material is injected, and
the scan begins. Afterwards, the images will be reviewed and, if
necessary, some will be repeated. No special measures are needed after the
procedure.
What will I experience during the procedure?
CTA takes about 10 to 25 minutes from the time the actual
examination begins. Overall, you can expect to be in or near the examining
room for 20 to 60 minutes. You may feel warm all over when contrast
material is injected before the scan, but you should not feel pain at any
time. Any CT study requires that
you remain still during the exam. Pillows and foam pads may help make it
more comfortable. At the same time the nurse or technologist may use pads
or Velcro straps to keep the area from moving. The examination table will
move into and out of the scanner opening, but it is not enclosed and only
a small part of your body will be inside at any one time. You may be asked
to hold your breath for nearly 10 seconds to be sure that the images
will not be blurred. During the time that no actual imaging is taking
place you are free to ask questions or talk to the technologist, but
friends or relatives will not be allowed in the examining room. Once the
needed images have been recorded, you will be free to leave. You can eat
immediately and it is a good idea to drink plenty of fluids in the hours
after the exam to help flush contrast material out of the system.
Who interprets the results and how do I get them?
Typically the results of CTA are available within 24 hours,
although in complicated cases special computer analysis may take somewhat
longer. The cardiologist will report the findings to you or to your
referring physician, who in turn will discuss them with you.
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