Leicester Royal chosen to validate latest cone beam CT scanner
Leicester Royal Infirmary (LRI) has installed a ‘first of its kind’ head and neck cone beam CT scanner featuring patented metal artefact reduction, a 120kV generator and the latest advances in radiographer assistance.
Installation of the Carestream CS 9600 CBCT at LRI was facilitated by its long-term vendor-independent managed service provider Althea working in partnership with Hulbert Dental ICT, which is the UK sector specialist for Carestream Dental.
LRI is the first UK hospital to introduce the technology after being chosen as the site to undertake clinical verification of the new platform.
“As an important evolution on established dental CBCT systems, the CS 9600 allows clinicians to scan more than just teeth or maxillofacial regions, adding approval for cervical spine and scaphoid imaging,” states Althea. Output images are automatically transferred to PACS along with user-defined reconstructions, all in DICOM format. The CS 9600 can also perform straightforward 2D orthopantomograms and remembers individual patient demographics, improving workflow for follow-up imaging.
Radiology site manager Colin Ross said: “We were using the CS 9300 and we really liked it but the CS 9600 has many advantages. The new scanner is very easy to use with patient positioning being particularly intuitive. It also has a maximum KvP of 120 rather than 90 and offers significantly larger fields of view.”
LRI was chosen specifically to put the machine through its paces in performing large volume CT scans of the sinuses, temporal bones and skull base. It will be used in the diagnosis and planning of oral and ENT surgery, as well as the redirection of a sizable proportion of sinus and temporal bone imaging from a busy conventional CT service. The scanner’s minimum voxel size of 75 microns is said to deliver examinations with superb image resolution.
Director at Hulbert Dental ICT Tony Hulbert commented: “It has been a great pleasure to work with the team at LRI throughout the validation process, with much credit due to the radiographers and radiologists in the Balmoral x-ray department. It is thanks to their positive and valuable feedback, that we take the CS 9600 forward with great confidence in what could well be a tipping-point in the application of CBCT technology.”
University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust will be holding a free study evening on April 10. Topics include advances in CBCT, improvements in image quality and diagnosis, and tips for writing the business case for procurement of a cone beam CT.
Photo: Reporting radiographer Mike Sinkala, superintendent radiographer Denise Gill, site manager Colin Ross, consultant radiologist Dr Ram Vaidhyanath, Althea chief technologist Francesca Evans and Hulbert Dental ICT director Tony Hulbert.
Published on page 2 of the March 2019 issue of RAD Magazine.