New CT scanner arrives at Paddington Community Diagnostic Centre
Posted 6th September 2023
Paddington Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC) is gearing up to begin offering CT scans later this month following delivery of a state-of-the-art new scanner.
The high-spec Siemens Somatom X-cite CT scanner arrived on site in Paddington last Wednesday (30th August) and is now being commissioned by our Physics and Radiology teams so the first patients can be scanned later this month.
The new CT scanner was needed as the one that had been installed by the building's previous occupants was designed for radiotherapy treatment planning and didn't have the right specification for diagnostic scans. The purchase was funded by NHS England's community diagnostic centre programme.
It means that diagnostic radiographers and their patients will benefit from the very latest advances in CT scanner design, including:
- A patient monitoring camera inside the ‘doughnut’ that makes it easier for staff to see any signs that someone may be having an adverse reaction to contrast dye
- Colour-coded breath hold i.e. lights will change colour will so patients who are deaf or hard of hearing know when they need to hold their breath
- Atmospheric lighting and a projector that can show videos, music and scenery so patients feel more relaxed
- Tin filter that means we can optimise the dose and get better images at lower radiation doses, where appropriate
- Higher maximum patient weight - the bed is suitable for patients up to 307kg
- Vectron x-ray tube - this is the latest type of x-ray tube which is capable of imaging larger body masses
Transporting and installing the scanner is no mean feat. The gantry (or ‘doughnut’) weighs an impressive 2,180kg. Commissioning starts this week; then, later this month, radiographers will spend a week training and doing test scans to check everything before the service officially launches. We expect to begin scanning CDC patients by the end of September.
