Welcome to the January 2011 issue of the Cone Connection - your number one source for medical imaging news. We hope you had a safe holiday season, and hope that 2011 is starting off with a bang.

There's been a heightened awareness of CT radiation overdosing dominating the news this past year, but the industry is responding with measures to assure patients of safe CT procedures.

We also focus on some recent updates we've done to coneinstruments.com, as well as some products that you may not know we offer.

Thanks for being a valued Cone Instruments customer. We appreciate your business and look forward to being your source for medical imaging supplies, in 2011 and beyond.

Over the past two decades, the use of diagnostic CT in the United States jumped from 3 million scans in 1980 to 70 million scans in 2007. While today’s technology delivers quality images at a radiation dose far below the levels of twenty years ago, there’s still potential for danger. In both October and December of 2009, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued industry-wide alerts after incorrectly calibrated CT scanners caused hundreds of patients to receive radiation overexposure. A subsequent New York Times investigation found that the radiation overdoses were larger and more widespread than previously thought - over 400 patients in eight different hospitals.

Because of incidents like these, a heightened attention to radiation exposure has brought about dramatic changes in equipment, training, industry/government reform and patient education.

Manufacturers have answered the call in recent years with the introduction of more affordable low-dose CT scanners.

Discovery™ CT750 HD is the world’s first high-definition CT scanner that offers improved imaging with less radiation dose per scan. The GE scanner promises up to 83 percent less exposure for cardiac scans, and up to 50 percent less for other body parts. The Discovery CT750 HD features the Gemstone™ detector, a new scintillator (the substance that emits light when hit by x-rays) that is 100 times faster than any other CT scanner detector and generates higher resolution images than previous systems.

Toshiba’s Aquilon One is another innovative CT scanner which uses 320 high resolution X-ray detectors in each rotation, taking about one-third of a second per rotation. Other scanners can take up to 15 seconds. The increased speed also requires less contrast materials. Faster imaging time also helps patients who have difficulty remaining still, such as children, the elderly and trauma patients. This new technology is capable of forming a detailed 3-D movie of an organ in real time.

Last February, The Medical Imaging & Technology Alliance (MITA) brought together five manufacturers – GE Healthcare, Toshiba, Siemens, Royal Philips Electronics and Hitachi – to create the Dose Check Initiative. Under the agreement, all new CT equipment would provide an alert to operators when recommended radiation dose levels are too high. Furthermore, manufacturers are working to create safeguards allowing hospitals and imaging facilities to set maximum radiation dose limits.

California became the first state to add a CT radiation tracking law, when then Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed SB 1237 into law in October 2010. The bill requires radiation dosage levels be recorded on the scanned image and in a patient’s health records, and requires that radiation overdoses be reported to the patient, the treating physician and the California Department of Public Health.

The law will go into effect in July of 2012, giving the radiology community and manufacturers a chance to fully understand the bill and its requirements.

While current CT scanners come equipped with many dose reduction techniques, more operator training and education are needed to facilitate dose reduction during imaging exams. Luckily, a multitude of training options are available.

GE Healthcare offers seminars and classes on reducing dosages and proper scanning techniques throughout the country, for both phyisicians and technologists. Although somewhat costly, these multi-day seminars are in-depth and provide hands-on training with consoles to ensure the user understands and can apply practical strategies to reduce or optimize CT radiation dose.

In addition to instructor-led courses, Siemens offers a series of self-paced webinars if training off-site for a few days is not a viable option.

Whether on-site or web-based, low dose technique training should be a top priority to ensure safe and clinically appropriate techniques are in practice.

Patients place considerable confidence in CT scans, but fail to understand the risks they may be taking, according to a January 2011 study published in Annals of Emergency Medicine. Researchers surveyed 1,168 patients with non-traumatic abdominal pain. While 20 percent were confident in a medical evaluation that included only patient history and a physical exam, 90 percent reported confidence in an exam that also included blood work and a CT scan. In fact, 75 percent of the patients underestimated the amount of radiation delivered by a CT scan, and only 3 percent were aware that a CT scan increased a person’s lifetime risk of cancer.

There are many opportunities to educate patients about the risks associated with CT scans. Each time an imaging scan is ordered, the physician should identify both the benefits and risks of the scan, and encourage dialog. Before the scan is performed, the tech should ensure that the patient has discussed those benefits and risks with their doctor. The point isn’t to dissuade them, but inform them.

As your facility adapts to these new (and everchanging) standards, count on Cone Instruments to have what you need for your CT scans – from markers, to patient positioning and radiation protection for both patients and personnel.

How can we help? Call us today at 800-321-6964.

Sources:

Newest CT Scanners Increase Resolution, Reduce Dosage; RSNA News, October 2010

Neale, T., CT Scan Readiation May Lead to 29,000 Cancers, Researchers Warn; abcnews.com, December 2009

HealthLeaders Media Staff, Patient Education on CT Scan Risks Lacking; www.healthleadersmedia.com, January 2011

Nation's CT Manufacturers Unveil New Industry-Wide Medical Radiation Patient Safety Features; www.medicalimaging.org, February 2010

You may have noticed we have made recent improvements to coneinstruments.com. To help you’re your shopping experience, the left hand navigation features the most shopped product categories towards the top of the web page.

We work continuously to provide a better shopping experience on coneinstruments.com for our customers. If you have any ideas as to how we can improve our site, we’d love to hear about it.

Please contact us at info@coneinstruments.com with your ideas and suggestions.

Did you know?

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ConeObGyn.com is your complete source for all your women’s health supply needs. With thousands of products from industry-leading manufacturers, you’ll find everything you need to keep your facility running smoothly.

You take care of your patients; we’ll take care of the rest.