Nearly one-third of U.S. adults are obese (or have a BMI of greater than 30):¹ The prevalence of obesity among American adults from 1960 to 2000 more than doubled, from 13.3 percent to 30.9 percent.²  In 1991, only four states had obesity rates of 15 percent or higher. In 2000, every state except Colorado had obesity rates of 15 percent or more.³  In decades past, patients who tipped the scales at 350 to 450 pounds were typically considered too heavy for computed tomography (CT) machines. Once a rarity, imaging extremely large patients has become commonplace.

Adventist Medical Center’s New Dual Source CT (DSCT) offers unmatched image quality for larger patients. The Siemens Dual-Source CT uses two x-ray sources and two detectors simultaneously which provides enhanced CT capabilities for the growing obese patient population.

Above: The standard CT image demonstrates poor quality, noisy images with artifacts along the edge of the image.

Below: The Dual Source CT image demonstrates reduced noise, increased tissue contrast, elimination of the artifacts and better resolution on the same patient.

Why the Dual Source CT Scanner over a traditional 64 slice CT scanner for your larger patients?

Image Quality – Thick layers of fat are barriers to beam penetration, resulting in degraded image quality for diagnosis and treatment. The technology of the DSCT scanner provides bariatric images as good as one would see with a 150 lb patient (0.6 mm slices, low noise).

Accommodating the Larger Patient - Obese patients often exceed imaging table weight maximums and bore/gantry limitations.

The most challenging aspect of bariatric imaging is the ability to visualize and diagnose the entire anatomy. In the past, visualization has been limited by the bore and reconstruction field of view.

The Dual-Source CT Scanner Achieves High Image Quality Independent of Size or Weight:

• Features a 78 cm bore opening compared to 70 cm bore on most conventional high-end multi- slice CT systems. The additional diameter around the bore prevents imaging artifacts which contribute to non-diagnostic studies.
  


• Accommodates patients weighing up to 615 pounds compared to the traditional multi-slice CT scanners which traditionally have a weight limit of 350 pounds. This allows patients to be scanned that could not have otherwise used CT technology.

Sources:
1 Journal of the American Medical Association
2 International Journal of Obesity
3 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. Department of Health and Human Service