New equipment reducing CT scan wait times at LHSC

New equipment reduces wait time at LHSC CTV’s Carlyle Fiset reports how CT scan wait times can drop at LHSC

What could normally take up to two months, now can be done in a matter of minutes, thanks to a new piece of equipment at the London Health Sciences Centre.

Hearing loss patients are being diagnosed with the help of a cone-beam CT unit, also known as a MiniCAT scan machine. Instead of a full body scan, the MiniCAT only focuses on the inner ear, as well as sinuses, according to Dr. Lorne Parnes, an otolaryngology surgeon.

The hospital said the device is the first of its kind in Canada, and will help relieve wait times for all CT scan patients, by reducing the number who need to use the main machine.

"Because it’s dedicated for our patients, we don’t have to book them ahead of time," said Dr. Parnes. "Before, they’d have to go home, come back another day, get the scan, and it would take two months."

For patients needing ear or sinus scans, the whole process can now take 15 minutes, according to Dr. Parnes. "It’s fantastic," he said.

The machine comes cheaper as well. A modern CT scanner can cost about $1.3 million, said Dr. Parnes, but the MiniCAT costs only about $220,000.

On top of that, patients receive a much milder radiation dose. “It’s about a fifteenth to a twentieth of the dose of a regular CT scanner.” He said.

The hospital says it was able to acquire the new machine thanks to a donation from one of Dr. Parnes’s former patients.