Computed Tomography (CT scanning)

VCA West Los Angele Animal Hospital utilizes Toshiba's Aquilion 16 CT scanner system, an advanced computed tomography (CT) scanner with enhanced features for greater patient comfort and safety, quicker exam times, and improved image quality for faster, more effective diagnosis and treatment. This is particularly important when determining the extent of injuries in trauma cases, where every second matters.

While CT uses X-ray technology, it is distinguished from other imaging tools like traditional X-ray and MRI by its ability to display a combination of soft tissue (like muscles, tissue, organs and fat), bones and blood vessels all in a single image. Clinicians perform CT scans to diagnose kidney, lung, liver, spine, blood diseases, cancer, tumors and cysts, as well as blood clots, hemorrhages and infections.

During a CT exam, a patient lies on a table and is slowly moved into the large donut-shaped opening of the scanner. Once inside, a series of X-ray beams create hundreds of cross-sectional pictures that represent slices of the patient's body. Seconds later, the system's computer assembles the slices into three-dimensional images that are interpreted by a clinician.

About The Aquilion 16 CT Scanner

The Aquilion 16 is has the ability to acquire 16 anatomical slices at once, offering physicians more detailed images. Image quality is further enhanced with a fast scanning capability (400 milliseconds to rotate around a patient's body) that effectively reduces any image distortion from scanning moving organs, such as the heart and lungs. As a result, the scanner delivers more accurate clinical images depicting fine details, including minute coronary arteries, non-calcified plaque and small vessel structures, for significantly enhanced examinations.

Multi-detector CT has dramatically improved clinicians' ability to accurately diagnose disease at an early stage. Offering superior imaging capabilities, it is a powerful diagnostic tool that uses rotating X-rays to penetrate body tissues, generating multiple slice images, which can detect more than traditional radiography.