Mahajan Imaging & Labs is the first to install India’s first Dual Energy CT Scanner with Cardiac Spectral Imaging capabilities ‘Discovery CT750-HD FREEdom Edition.’

The GSI Spectral CT makes it possible to visualize blocked stents (re-stenosis), something that was not possible earlier. It can provide information about myocardial perfusion and help clinicians make a more informed decision about further treatment.

With the advent of 16, 64, 128 and 256 slice CT scanners, diagnosis of coronary heart disease reached an all-time high, since these machines enabled visualisation of the heart and its vessels in great detail non-invasively allowing radiologists and cardiologists to find out the condition of the coronary vessels. But this was not without its problems. Many times, it would not be possible to see the condition of the vessels because calcium deposits in them would obscure the view. Also, even if the blockage was visible, it was difficult to tell what kind of deposit the patient had. This Dual Energy Spectral CT scanner actually shifts the CT paradigm beyond slices and enables visualisation of the coronaries with dramatic clarity using much less radiation exposure. Till today, CT scanning could only show the disease, now it is possible to tell the clinician what it is made of so as to enable him to plan targeted treatment. CT coronary angiography can now be confidently promoted as a screening tool for people with risk factors for heart disease since the radiation exposure is very low with this system and the information obtained is clear and precise.

Here are some of the other advantages of dual-energy CT:

• Patients with relatively high or irregular pulse rates can also be taken up for CT coronary angiography, with adequate diagnostic results.
• Patients with high calcium in coronary arteries are also scanned with better results.
• The orthopaedic cases with metallic implants are also better scanned with fewer artifacts and smoother images for improved diagnostic accuracy.
• There is a special role for dual-energy spectral scans in patients with kidney stones, for characterizing the chemical composition of the stone.
• In gout patients, there is a special role in dual-energy scans for detecting uric acid crystals.

The introduction of this technology in India is a testament to the fact that India is at par with the best in the world as far as radiology services go.