New CT scanner delivers the latest in technology

Out with the old, in with the new. Melissa Memorial Hospital in Holyoke is starting 2020 with a major upgrade that rivals the technology of most Front Range hospitals.

Last week MMH began the process of installing a brand-new computed tomography scanner, and radiology director Tim Johnson expected the CT machine to be up and running the middle of this week.

And when Johnson said it was brand-new, it’s not only a new machine. A company called Siemens Healthineers just finished developing the technology for this highly sophisticated scanner that combines X-rays and computers to create 3D pictures of organs, bones and other tissues.

SOMATOM go.All is a 64-slice CT scanner, meaning it can take 64 pictures in one rotation. It’s replacing a 20-year-old machine that was only a 16-slice scanner. The difference between the detail in the two images is like night and day, said Johnson. “Image quality was becoming an issue,” and it was time for a replacement.

And as if the new detail wasn’t enough, he said they have the option to upgrade to 128-slice technology at any time with the new machine.

Johnson said they can also do calcium scoring tests that look at blood vessels to the heart. “It’s so fast we can now scan a beating heart!”

Patients might notice that the new scanner is quicker and quieter. “It cuts the scan time in half but has 100 times the processing power,” said Johnson.

SOMATOM go.All features a unique tablet-based mobile workflow that allows users to spend more time with the patient instead of at the console. It’s also easier and more efficient in terms of patient preparation, image acquisition, reconstruction, reading and data distribution.

MMH was leasing the old machine and will continue to lease the new machine, which Johnson said is worth around half a million dollars.