Toshiba公司制造出Aquilon64层CT扫描仪

一种新型64层计算机断层扫描仪（CT）能够在5～10秒钟之内为有心脏病发作症状的患者生成精确的影像。

约翰霍普金斯大学医学院(JHU; Baltimore, MD, USA)放射科医生报道说：预期这种扫描仪可以替代许多血管造影诊断方案，这些方案是当前冠状动脉疾病影像诊断的金标准。

约翰霍普金斯大学医学院医学与反射科学副教授、心血管科医生Joao Lima说：“这种新出现的技术将大大改变我们目前处理冠状动脉疑似患者以及胸部疼痛患者的处理方法。通过迅速快捷地检查阻塞动脉，我们能够筛选出那些心脏病即将发作或者不发作的高危患者，从而免除不必要的心脏导管治疗。而且我们也不再需要等待患者病情稳定之后再进行至关重要的诊断检查。"

这种安装在约翰霍普金斯大学医学院的新型CT扫描仪是Aquilon 64 CFX型多层扫描仪，由Toshiba美国医疗系统集团公司(Tustin, CA, USA)制造的。这种扫描仪生成影像的速度是32层扫描仪的2倍，而且更加清晰。所获得的影像质量是如此精确，以至于无需进行侵入性、更加危险的检查（例如血管造影或者心脏导管）来检查动脉阻塞。
 
Rapid CT Diagnosis of Heart Attack
 
A new 64-slice computerized tomography (CT) scanner produces precise images within five to 10 seconds for patients with heart attack symptoms.

Radiologists at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (JHU; Baltimore, MD, USA) reported that the scanner is expected to replace many diagnostic angiography procedures, the current gold standard for diagnostic imaging of the coronary arteries.

“This added technology will dramatically alter the way we currently treat patients with suspected coronary disease and chest pain,” said cardiologist Joao Lima, M.D., associate professor of medicine and radiology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. “By immediately and very quickly checking for blocked arteries, we can sort out who is and is not at high risk of having a heart attack, and eliminate the need for unnecessary cardiac catheterization. And we no longer need to wait until a patient is stabilized before performing this critical diagnostic test.”

The new CT scanner installed at JHU is an Aquilon 64 CFX multislice CT scanner, manufactured by Toshiba American Medical Systems, Inc (Tustin, CA, USA). The scanner produces images at twice the speed and in greater detail than the 32-slice, and the image quality is so precise it lessens the need for invasive, more dangerous procedures such as angiography or cardiac catheterization, to look for arterial blockages.