Elmhurst gets super fast scanner

Thanks in part to $1.7 million allocated by City Councilmember Helen Sears, Elmhurst Hospital Center unveiled its brand new 64-Slice CT Scanner that will assist their doctors in making the best diagnosis for patients.
“I am very proud of this new machine and how it will lead to improved healthcare for the residents of this area,” Sears said at the ribbon-cutting, on Thursday, December 4.
She praised the hospital and said that the availability of such cutting edge technology “Ensures that this institution will continue to set the standard for healthcare in New York City.”
“We are excited to have this equipment,” said Chris Constantino, Executive Director of Elmhurst Hospital Center. “It will greatly assist our physicians in recommending proper courses of treatment for our patients,” he predicted.
“CT” stands for “computer tomography” - the device collects X-ray data in thin slices and a computer puts it together into a picture. Each slice is about the thickness of a credit card.
By lining up 64 sets of “X-ray detectors,” the machine can collect data in sections the width of a ping pong ball in a single revolution - less than half a second.
From this data a computer produces highly detailed pictures of any organ in a few seconds and provides sharp, clear, three-dimensional images, including 3-D views of the blood vessels, in an instant.
It is also a valuable tool in detecting certain types of cancer, doctors say.
Such 64-slice machines can perform a complete scan of the human body in about 30 seconds, according to the manufacturer, General Electric Corporation.
The machine is so fast, it is possible to image the heart between beats or the lungs in about 5 seconds - a span during which even a seriously ill patient can hold their breath - thus eliminating blur caused by movement.
The device “is particularly useful for studying the cardiovascular system and providing non-invasive images of the heart and its major vessels,” Constantino noted.