Computed tomography using state-of-the-art hardware - experiences gained during one year of practical application

The TOMOSCAN LX has been in operation since January 1989. This 3rd generation scanner is up to the latest technological standards and can now be evaluated on the basis of the 3600 examinations performed during its first year of clinical use. The predominant characteristic of this new system certainly was its surprisingly great rapidity in producing pictures. The revolutionary scan interevals, which were much shorter than those known before, permitted the number of examinations to be increased to 25 per day. Considerable improvements were achieved as to the quality of the pictures obtained. The laser camera is another asset ensuring much better documentation on X-ray film. It is of great importance to the accuracy of diagnosis that six different 'windows' can be programmed in advance and then focused without any delay. A further advantage over former systems is that it offers an improved quality or larger range of display options. The information obtained from transverse sections through comparatively thin layers of tissue and, if possible, overlapped scans, permits three-dimensional reconstructions that are of value in decisions about surgical techniques. (orig./MG)