Today, that time-consuming transfer between the ER and the imaging facility has been eliminated. As of February, patients suffering from severe abdominal pain have been ushered into a brand-new imaging facility located directly across from the ER, where a state-of-the-art multidetector CT scanner produces remarkably clear, detailed images of the internal organs in just a matter of minutes. “We are delighted to have this machine in the new radiology suite,” says Robert C. Rothberg, M.D., Associate Professor of Surgery (Emergency Medicine), who directs Tisch’s ER. “It should markedly reduce the time patients have to wait to be scanned, as well as the time it takes to reach a diagnosis.”

Multidetector CT scanners are the latest advance in CT technology. They can provide vivid images of virtually any part of the body, from blood vessels and bones to abdominal organs and the brain. As an X-ray tube in the machine rotates around the patient, it generates two-dimensional “slices,” which are then assembled by a computer into stunning three-dimensional digital images.

CT scans can detect a wide range of abnormalities, and their utility in diagnosing a disease and monitoring its progression is advancing many fields of medicine. When it comes to diagnosis, speed is a virtue—and these scans are swift. A complete scan of the head, for example, takes only 20 seconds, according to Michael Harbeson, Administrative Director for Imaging Services.

Another benefit of the multidetector CT is the accessibility and portability of its images. The images can be transmitted to a newly installed Picture Archival Communication System (PACS) that allows radiologists and other physicians to view the images by logging on to networked computers. “Doctors anywhere in the hospital can now read these images,” says Harbeson.