Apollo Hospitals, Chennai has introduced India’s first state-of-the-art Aquilion One Prism 640-slice CT Scanner that sets new paradigms in non-invasive cardiac assessment for patients. The 640-slice CT scanner was inaugurated by Dr. C. Vijaya Baskar, Hon’ble Minister for Health, Medical Education and Family Welfare, Government of Tamil Nadu in the presence of Dr. Prathap C Reddy, Founder and Chairman and Ms. Preetha Reddy, Vice Chairperson, Apollo Hospitals Group. The next-generation 640-slice CT scanner brings the latest in medical technology to India and enhances diagnostic power with unrivaled visualization of the heart and other organs, providing doctors with all the information needed to make a diagnosis with confidence in the shortest of time.
Dr. C. Vijaya Baskar, Hon’ble Minister for Health, Medical Education and Family Welfare, Government of Tamil Nadu said, “It is a matter of pride that Apollo Hospitals continues to bring the latest and best of medical technology to the state and country for the benefit of patients here. I congratulate Apollo Hospitals on the launch of this new advanced 640-slice CT scanner and am sure that this will benefit not just patients in Tamil Nadu, but patients from across India.”
Dr. Prathap C Reddy, Founder and Chairman, Apollo Hospitals Group, said, “The new advanced Aquilion One Prism 640-slice CT scanner is another step in our efforts to make India ‘Atma-Nirbhar’ with the best of medical technology providing the same world-class treatment that is available in abroad. It is now available in India at a fraction of the cost! The new 640-slice CT scanner is testament to our preparation for the future with sustained investments in new technologies. Heart disease is the leading cause of death worldwide and in India, one in 4 deaths are because of cardiovascular disease (CVD) with ischemic heart disease and stroke responsible for >80% of this burden. Early diagnosis and proper management is essential if we are to tackle the heart disease challenge and new technology such as the 640-slice CT scanners empowers us with the ability to do so. This new CT-scanner takes diagnosis to the next level, imaging the entire heart in less than one-third of a second to allow rapid diagnosis.”
“The speed of the scanner gives rapid answers with patients no longer needing to wait hours. If all appears normal, patient can be discharged. If the scan shows severe coronary artery disease (CAD), he will be immediately shifted to the Cardiac Cath lab for possible stent placements. In mild cases, follow up can be done in a week to ten days, while in moderate cases, medical management or a nuclear stress test for limitation of flow can be done – there is no need for admission to the hospital. Other advantages include lower radiation exposure that enhances patient safety.”
The advanced Aquilion One Prism CT is quick enough to take an image in between two heart beats. It is extremely easy to use and covers the whole heart in one rotation, which also makes it feasible for cardiac perfusion studies. The coronary CT and entire aortogram can be done together. The images produced by the scanner are crisp and clear and hence make the diagnosis very accurate.
This machine is used not just to scan the heart but can be used to scan other organs like the brain, kidneys and organs that are within the 16 cm size. Employing cutting-edge technology to accelerate clinical decision-making and optimise patient care, the advanced 640-slice CT Scanner reduces the examination time for diagnosis of a stroke to less than 5 minutes with from 30 minutes by other methods! The speed of the machine results in lower radiation exposure to patients. The technology allows use of less contrast (dye) while delivering sharper images. With less artefacts, the CT scan can be performed even on patients with pacemaker and metal heart valves.
Ms. Preetha Reddy, Vice Chairperson, Apollo Hospitals Group spoke on the benefits for the patients of the advanced Aquilion One 640-slice CT machine, “With the latest advances in medical technology, we are now in an era of non-invasive diagnosis and minimally invasive treatments for heart disease. The advanced non-invasive cardiology techniques allow early detection of heart disease, using external tests, as against instruments inserted into the body, to evaluate and diagnose cardiac disorders. Among these, cardiac CT allows us to rule out heart disease with 99% accuracy and avoid more invasive testing. In early cases of heart disease, patients can be started on preventive therapy and management, while patient with moderate to advanced heart disease that may lead to a heart attack, can be immediately referred for an angiogram, stenting or even surgery as required.”
Ms. Suneeta Reddy, Managing Director, Apollo Hospitals Group said, “At Apollo Hospitals, we have always believed in providing medical excellence with a human touch, and the advanced Aquilion One Prism CT is one more example of our approach. The new CT-scanner is more than just about cutting-edge technology, but about using technology to optimise patient care through accelerated clinical decision-making for accurate diagnosis and treatment planning. The scanner is the fastest in the world and allows us to enhance diagnosis of not in cardiology, but also neurology, oncology, gastroenterology and paediatric conditions in a safe, rapid and precise manner. The dimensions of the new scanner also make it accessible to a larger patient population. We shall continue on our mission to make advanced healthcare accessible and affordable to more and more patients.”
The 640-slice CT scan system offers a non-invasive method to detect early coronary artery disease, which may eventually cause narrowed or blocked vessels in the heart. The larger bore of the advanced version can accommodate bariatric patients up to 315 kg of body weight, who may not fit in conventional scanners, and patients with high heart rates. This allows diagnostic scanning for early CAD in this high-risk patient population, so that treatment can be started earlier. Post-operative checks after cardiac surgery can be performed without any invasive procedure and with least discomfort, while giving accurate information about coronary stents and bypass grafts.
