City hospital gets pounds 2m superscanner; HEALTH: New equipment will revolutionise treatment of stroke and chest pain.

Byline: Alison Dayani

A HI-TECH pounds 2 million superscanner that can analyse body organs in less than a second has been installed at a Birmingham hospital.

The state-of-the-art technology that will treat patients at Heartlands Hospital is the first of its kind in the West Midlands and only the second to be used in the entire NHS.

Hospital bosses said the new CT scanner, called a Toshiba Aquilion One 320 Slice, has the ability to scan parts of the human body in only one rotation and is so quick that they expect it to dramatically speed up times for diagnosis.

Radiologists have also found the scanner offers the lowest radiation dose available to patients while examining all the major body parts and imaging whole organs in real time.

It is expected to revolutionise how patients are treated, especially those with stroke and chest pain.

Dr Madava Djearaman, a consultant cardiothoracic radiologist at Heartlands Hospital, said: "This cutting edge technology will enable us to offer patients the best quality of care by improving diagnostic accuracy, particularly for patients arriving at the hospital with symptoms of chest pain.

"As the scanner works more effi-ciently than previous scanners, we are also already seeing a steady increase in the amount of patients we are able to see and treat per day."

The radiology department at Heartlands, in Bordesley Green, has also benefited from a new, dedicated CT suite, housing its two CT scanners back to back, as well as improved patient reception and waiting areas.

Clinical director of radiology Dr Lowri Morus said: "At a cost of just over pounds 2 million, the scanner represents a substantial financial investment in radiology services and demonstrates the organisation's commitment to providing a worldclass service to the patients of the region."

Doctors and the radiology department have been thrilled to get such advanced equipment in the heart of the city, where cases of stroke and heart disease are prevalent.

It will also help to improve medical training about new ways of detecting problems in patients for staff.

CAPTION(S):

State of the art: From left, consultant radiologists Dr Shuvro Roy-Choudhry and Dr Madava Djearaman, advanced practitioner radiographer Jeanette Dadds and CT service lead Eunan McGlynn with the new scanner.