Siemens Medical Solutions (Iselin. N.J.) Sensation-16 CT scanner fills the bill for a wide variety of medical facilities, including large university centers and high-volume specialty hospitals and clinics. Sensation-16 also is especially well suited for community hospitals.

Alamance Regional Hospital (Burlington, N.C.), a 240-bed community hospital, installed a Sensation-16 scanner in July 2002. In just a few short months, the hospital has realized a host of  benefits. The Sensation-16 enables this regional hospital to offer its community a better routine CT exam. Patients receive lower radiation doses and undergo shorter exams, resulting in higher resolution, better image quality scans for clinicians to review.

Chris DeAngelo, radiology manager at Alamance Regional Hospital, explains why the hospital became one of the first Sensation-16 sites in the country. “We had single and four-slice CT scanners, and everyone wanted to use the four-slice system, so we upgraded to the Sensation-16.”

The initial response from radiologists and clinicians has been overwhelmingly positive. “We found image quality with the Sensation-16 is superior,” DeAngelo says. “It’s absolutely wonderful. We can image faster without any venous flow. The scanner gives a clear, unobstructed picture and allows us to cover a great distance at a thinner slice with runoffs, which improves image quality.”

Scan speed and image quality aren’t the only pluses of the Sensation-16, says DeAngelo. Workflow also has improved with Siemens’ syngo software. “Syngo helps streamline workflow, including scanning, reconstruction, archiving and auto-processing,” says DeAngelo. For example, a CT angiography protocol in the scanner automatically reconstructs at six images per second and even automatically reformats and displays them for the radiologists. “This enables our physicians to create a quick and precise diagnosis in a few minutes without time consuming image manipulation and processing time,” DeAngelo says.

Please refer to the December 2002 issue for the complete story. For information on article reprints, contact Martin St. Denis