Paoli Hospital Selected to Test New X-ray Technology

Paoli, Pa. (April 2006) — Paoli Hospital is one of four institutions nationwide selected to test new technology that allows physicians to obtain computed tomography (CT) images during interventional radiology procedures.

The Philips XperCT combines advanced 3-D X-ray technology with CT scanning in one piece of equipment, greatly improving the physician's ability to obtain the appropriate images when they are needed.

 "What is very different about the XperCT is that if we need a CT scan to guide us during a particular procedure, we have the capability to take CT-like images with the XperCT right here in the interventional radiology suite," says Atul Gupta, M.D., director of the Interventional Radiology Lab at Paoli Hospital. "We no longer need to transfer patients to the CT lab to obtain soft-tissue images, which makes the procedure more efficient."

The hybrid technology superimposes the images from the CT scan on the X-ray system—a 3-D image overlaid with live 2-D fluoroscopy—providing a dynamic roadmap of the blood vessels and other soft-tissue structures for exact placement of catheters and other tools.

With the images on a computer screen, it's possible for the physician to spin the pictures, look into an artery and see calcified plaque, "fly through" the artery to pinpoint areas of narrowing, and subtract structures from the images that aren't necessary for treatment.

In one case, guided by the CT images produced by the XperCT, Gupta was able to place a stent in a man's inferior vena cava, which carries blood from the lower extremities back to the heart. The stent opened a narrowing of the vein and relieved swelling in the man's legs caused by blood pooling.

"The technology allowed me to precisely place the stent using the CT images and fluoroscopy (moving X-rays)," says Gupta. "This particular case would have been very difficult to do without the technology."

Because the XperCT will reduce the need to use contrast X-ray dye, which is injected into veins and arteries to help guide the placement of catheters, procedures previously requiring the dye to locate problem areas will be safer and faster, Gupta notes.

The XperCT technology is an enhanced feature of the Philips Allura Xper FD20 X-ray system, the centerpiece of the state-of-the-art interventional radiology suite that opened at Paoli last year in response to the growing subspecialty of interventional radiology.

"The capabilities of this technology are very impressive for a wide range of uses in peripheral vascular disorders, embolization, carotid artery disease, thrombolytic therapy and chemotherapy," says Gupta. "The XperCT technology will revolutionize interventional radiology, and we are pleased that Paoli will play a leading role in its development."

Joining Paoli as test sites for the XperCT are Baptist Cardiovascular Institute in Miami, Yale-New Haven Hospital and Johns Hopkins. Paoli also will serve as host for physicians, administrators and technologists nationwide who want to see the equipment in action.