ABOUT CT SCAN

Computed Tomograph (CT) Imaging or in other name “CAT Scanning” (Computed Axial Tomography). Greek word “tomos” which mean slice or section and word “graphia” mean describing is refer to word tomography. Based on history, in 1972 this CT scan was invented by British engineer Godfrey Hounsfield of EMI Laboratory, England and South Africa born physicist Allan Cormack of Tufts University, Massachusetts.

Between 1972 and 1976, the first clinical CT scanner was installed. At first, the original system was dedicated to head imaging only. After that in 1976, whole body system with large patient opening was created and available. Four years later in 1980, this device became widely around the world. In US only, about 6000 CT Scanner installed and about 30,000 installed worldwide.

The first CT Scan that created by Hounsfield in his lab at EMI need several hours to acquire the raw data for a single scan or slice. A single image from a raw data also need a couple days to complete this process. In contrast, the latest multi-slice CT system can collect up to four slice of data 350 ms and less than a second needed to reconstruct a 512 x 512 –matrix image from the millions of data. An entire chest (forty 8 mm slices) can be scanned in five to ten seconds using the most advanced multi-slice CT system.

As the time flow, CT scan has made great improvement and upgrade in speed, patient comfort, and resolution. As the CT scan time gotten faster, less time needed by an anatomy to do this scan process. Another benefit when this process going faster is it also help to eliminate artifact from the patient motion such as breathing and peristalsis. Compare the old one, CT scan now are quicker and more patient friendly than ever before. Tremendous research and development has been made to provide excellent image quality for diagnostic confidence at the lowest possible x-ray dose.  

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/09/02/1093939066254.html