Addenbrooke’s Hospital, part of Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, has today unveiled the first SOMATOM Definition Flash situated outside of London.
Set to enhance cardiac services at the Trust, the state-of-the-art CT will offer local patients an advanced onsite technology for faster, more accurate diagnoses. Funding for the system was secured by a combination of NHS funding and a charitable donation through Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust.
With the ability to present images in a flash at the lowest dose, the Definition Flash will yield exciting possibilities for both routine scanning and research applications at Addenbrooke’s. Furthermore, the speed and image quality of the system will enable the hospital to offer CT coronary angiograms to patients using the latest technology.
“The speed of the Definition Flash will deliver new opportunities for performing CT coronary angiograms and we will be able to significantly extend the range of people who currently undergo this procedure to include younger and middle aged patients,” said Ashley Shaw, Lead Radiologist for CT at Addenbrooke’s Hospital.
“Furthermore, its speed means we will be able to offer a better examination experience for our young patients by reducing the need for sedation.”
The Definition Flash can perform a scan of the entire heart in just 250 milliseconds, which is less than half a heart beat. Additionally it can image hearts with a fast pulse or an irregular beat without using beta blockers. Due to its rapid scanning speed, the system can also perform coronary angiography examinations in the sub-millisievert (mSv) range.
“Diseases of the heart and circulatory system are the main cause of death in the UK; the advanced Definition Flash at Addenbrooke’s Hospital will give patients access to a state-of-the-art onsite facility for the detailed diagnosis of a range of conditions, including cardiac,” said Graham Walker, Regional Sales and Corporate Business Manager at Siemens Healthcare.
“We look forward to seeing the benefits the CT will provide in both its clinical and research functions at Addenbrooke’s.”
“This new CT machine is another wonderful advance, maintaining Addenbrooke’s position as the premier CT site in the country,” said Emeritus Professor Adrian Dixon, Consultant Radiologist at Addenbrooke’s Hospital.
“This perpetuates the original aim of the charity which launched the appeal for the first body CT machine in Cambridge, opened by Prince Charles in 1981. We are very grateful for this further charitable donation which has made this development possible. For patients, the examinations will be even more accurate, even quicker and with a lower radiation dose.”
The Definition Flash has replaced a seven year old four-slice Siemens system and will image patients alongside three other Siemens CT systems, the SOMATOM Emotion, SOMATOM Sensation 16 and SOMATOM Sensation 64. Each system in the department is used for a range of routine imaging requirements.
