Southwestern Vermont Medical Center Acquires Latest Dose-Reduction Technology

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BENNINGTON, Vt. — The imaging department at Southwestern Vermont Medical Center has acquired new technology to reduce radiation exposure and improve image quality. The new technology makes Computed tomography exams safer and more accurate for patients.

CT, commonly referred to as a “cat scan,” creates sophisticated 3D X-ray images that are used to assess many different conditions including traumatic injury, cancer, stroke, among others. Unlike other imaging modalities such as Ultrasound and MRI, CT uses radiation to make images. And radiation — even in small amounts — can be harmful. Patients and providers should use caution when deciding whether the information gained about a particular condition is worth the risk of exposure to radiation.

“This new technology reduces radiation dose, enabling safer CT exams for patients, while maintaining the image quality needed for diagnoses,” said Dr. Daniel Fodor, medical director of the Department of Radiology. “When new technology like this becomes available, we need to adopt it. Technological advances make a big difference in the health of patients.”  


The new CT scan software — Adaptive Iterative Dose Reduction 3D (AIDR 3D) from Toshiba America Medical Systems — works to produce higher quality images with a 30-40% reduction in radiation exposure. Its sophisticated algorithm is designed to work in both the raw data and image data space, reducing noise while maintaining image quality. With the software, the equipment is able to draw more information and reconstruct images more quickly. Because it is faster, there is less disruption caused by movement of the body.

“The decrease in radiation offered with this system is significant and may make a difference to patients and doctors as they try to decide whether a CT scan is necessary,” said Melissa Spiezio, SVMC’s imaging director.

 Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC) is a full-service community hospital whose physicians are members of the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Putnam Physicians, a multispecialty medical group operated in partnership with Dartmouth-Hitchcock. SVMC is part of Southwestern Vermont Health Care (SVHC), an integrated health system serving Bennington and Windham Counties in Vermont, Eastern Rensselaer and Washington Counties in New York, and Northern Berkshire County in Massachusetts.

 


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