4 Priorities Guiding Successful CT Departments

As the complexity of CT exams increases, some organizations may not have the technology to help technologists perform these exams, or have the technology but may not be leveraging it to its full potential.

The truth is: technology alone is often not enough. Technologists – whether they have been practicing for two years or 20 – must be confident in using the technology available so that your department is leveraging the important clinical data they are capturing and getting the full return on the investment made in your CT technology.

A CT technologist’s day could begin with an 84-year-old man with a broken femur, and comorbidities including a hip implant, which may impact how the patient’s scan should be set up. Or your department may see a pediatric patient with an irregular heart rhythm who needs a CT for pre-surgical planning.

Every patient who walks in the door has their own diverse set of dynamics, all of which may require individualized scan parameters. Within any exam protocol, the correct scan parameters must also be set for consistent, high-quality images. 

The rise in exam complexity may also mean an increased reliance on precise patient positioning, which is not always simple or straightforward.

For cardiac CT scans, for example, positioning the patient, specifically the correct positioning of the heart, is key. If the heart is not in the isocenter of the gantry, the image quality can be compromised, which can result in re-scans.

For these and many other exam types, precise patient preparation is essential to obtaining high-quality diagnostic imaging.