Dose reduction and fast scanning speeds for paediatrics at new children’s hospital

Royal Hospital for Children and Young People in Edinburgh welcomes Aquilion CT

NHS Lothian’s new Royal Hospital for Children and Young People in Edinburgh fully opened earlier this year delivering state-of-the-art facilities and medical equipment to its patients and families. At the heart of its new diagnostic imaging strategy was an innovative CT scanner from Canon Medical Systems UK to speed up procedures for paediatric patients and drive down dose.

The Aquilion ONE GENESIS Edition CT scanner includes the Advanced intelligent Clear-IQ Engine (AiCE), the next-generation CT reconstruction technology. It has helped to make complex paediatric examinations easier, reduced dose for young patients and improved diagnostic accuracy.

“The dose reduction for our paediatric patients is amazing,” states Jennifer Stewart, CT Radiographer at the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People. “The 16cm detector can achieve a volume scan in 0.5 seconds on a head which is really helpful when examining young patients, and we no longer need anaesthetics or strategies to try and keep them still for as long. This fast speed really helps us perform the procedure quicker and is better for the small person concerned.”

She continues, “The in-room ‘Handy Snap’ start button is a great feature on the CT scanner as it is great for gaining that crucial one second of stillness to get the best image of a young patient and stay close to them for reassurance. Plus, the ‘Area Finder’ with laser collimation functionality helps plan the scan range and field of view at the gantry without needing to do traditional planning steps such as a scanogram. This further reduces dose for the patient.”

Iain Gray, Account Manager at Canon Medical Systems UK states, “We have a long and close relationship with NHS Lothian which has been further cemented with the new CT scanner installation at the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People. We will continue to provide applications support, training and our industry renowned service support to the imaging team, and look forward to ensuring they get the very best uptime and user experience to support patient care.”

Photo caption: The Aquilion ONE GENESIS Edition CT scanner at NHS Lothian’s new Royal Hospital for Children and Young People in Edinburgh. L to R: Iain Gray, Account Manager, Canon Medical Systems UK; Claire Donoghue, Radiographer; Jennifer Stewart, Radiographer; & Simon McGurk, Radiologist.