Shands at UF has acquired a new weapon in its fight against heart disease, America's No. 1 killer.
Shands recently installed a state-of-the-art CT scanner, the first of its kind in Florida and one of about 10 in the U.S., according to Doug Ryan, senior director of Toshiba's CT Business Unit.
Like other CT scanners, the $2.5 million Toshiba Aquilion ONE produces 3-D snapshots and videos of a patient's internal organs and blood vessels, helping doctors detect and prevent heart disease and strokes.
Unlike other scanners, it has five times as many X-ray detectors, which means it can produce more detailed images. The detectors are also longer so that organs can often be mapped in one scan instead of many.
Dr. Anthony Mancuso, chairman of UF's radiology department in the College of Medicine, said he immediately wanted the machine when he learned of its capabilities.
"I said, 'We have to have one of these. We have to be one of the first,'" Mancuso said.
In addition to scanning hearts and brains, the new scanner may soon help doctors deal with cancer and organ transplants, he said.
In the meantime, it will help doctors make faster diagnoses and eliminate the need for other tests, many of them invasive, Mancuso said.
Mancuso was one of a team of doctors who helped show off the new scanner to reporters Tuesday morning.
To demonstrate how it worked, a volunteer lay down on the bed in front of the doughnut-shaped machine as Mancuso explained how it worked.
As the face of the scanner was lifted and the device was turned on - minus the X-rays - the intricate parts of the scanner whirled around the opening of the hole, creating a heavy breeze in the room.
Shands spent millions on the new machine, but Mancuso said the scans cost patients the same as regular CT scans and should still be covered by insurance.
Fewer than a dozen patients have been scanned so far, said Dr. Steven Kraft, a UF cardiologist.
