Metal artefact reduction technology on new CT scanner benefits A&E team in Glasgow
A new CT scanner situated in the Accident & Emergency (A&E) Department of Glasgow Royal Infirmary has been praised for its metal artefact reduction algorithm that enables hospital staff to gain clearer imaging to assist more confident and faster diagnosis.
The SEMAR™ application on the Canon Medical Aquilion Prime SP CT eliminates the distortion of metallic artefacts inside patients generated from items such as orthopaedic plates or screws; medically implanted coils or clips; or fragments from trauma incidents. It automatically removes the streaks of distortion around the metal items, even retrospectively, to improve the visualisation of medical images for clinical interpretation with no increase in patient dose.
“Metal management in patients is an issue that has been on the CT imaging innovation radar for some time,” states Iain Gray, Account Manager at Canon Medical Systems UK. “For A&E departments it can help with imaging patients with metal trauma wounds. Add to this the fact that our population is ageing, and so too are their joints, there is also a growing increase in the use of replacement metal prostheses. Plus, the advancements of managing life threatening conditions such as coiling or clipping aneurysms further adds to the potential of metal being present inside the twenty first century patient.”
“It is an unfortunate fact of life that in a busy city A&E we see all sorts of trauma cases. Being able to examine a patient precisely with potential metal fragments inside them is a great advantage in treatment planning. Without the SEMAR CT technology the metal would cause distortion on the resulting medical images and could obscure tissue or bone imagery. Now, we can confidently see if fragments are inside the body and rapidly understand what impact they have caused,” states Karen Macdonald, CT Modality Lead Radiographer at Glasgow Royal Infirmary.
The Aquilion Prime SP CT at Glasgow Royal Infirmary remained as an A&E scanner during the COVID-19 crisis but has undertaken both acute trauma cases and COVID-19 chest scans with stringent cleaning in between procedures. It has quickly delivered many advantages to the radiology team compared to the previous ageing scanner it replaced.
Karen Macdonald adds, “An additional benefit of the new Canon Medical CT scanner is cardiac gating. Previously a patient presenting at A&E would need to be transferred to the Radiology Department – this incurred time and required transfer staff. Now, high-quality gating can happen as soon as patients present at the front door of A&E which gives them a much better outcome.”
The Aquilion Prime SP CT installation at Glasgow Royal Infirmary is one of five Canon Medical CTs recently awarded by Greater Glasgow & Clyde Health Board. The other sites include one at Inverclyde Royal Hospital; two at Gartnavel General Hospital; and one at The Institute of Neurological Sciences.