A CT scan, sometimes also called a CAT scan, takes pictures of the body and uses a computer to put them together. CT stands for computerised tomography. A CT scanner uses X-rays and is a painless procedure.

A series of X-rays are taken of your body at slightly different angles, to produce very detailed pictures of the inside of your body.   The pictures produced by CT scans are called tomograms and they provide doctors with information to help them reach a diagnosis about a variety of conditions.   The CT scanner is a large machine. The pictures are taken while you lie on a couch, which moves backwards and forwards through the hole of the machine that is shaped rather like a giant doughnut.

Whilst the new machine is only slightly faster (30 seconds per scan instead of 40 seconds) the technology used is vastly better, producing images which enable much better diagnosis for conditions such as stroke, pulmonary embolism, virtual colonoscopy and cerebral perfusion.   For the patients attending the Trust, which services around 400,000 people living in Elmbridge, Hounslow, Runnymede, Spelthorne, Surrey Heath, Woking and further afield, this means a much improved service.   Approximately 9,000 scans are performed on the St. Peter’s Hospital site per annum.

Dr Jane Hibbert, Consultant Radiologist and clinical lead for CT scanning said: “CT is a vital diagnostic tool for both inpatient and outpatient care.  We are proud of the CT service provided within the trust and anticipate that the new Toshiba 64 slice CT will allow us to improve it even further.  The scanner is a major technical advance on the previous equipment.  It will allow us to provide superb quality scans, and particularly improve the service for vascular imaging.  In addition, there is the exciting potential for developing cardiac angiography and CT colonography. 

Aoife Gregan, CT superintendent comments: “We would like to thank all staff and patients for their understanding and co-operation during the installation of the new scanner.  We appreciate that using the temporary mobile scanner has been difficult but we can now look forward to utilising the most modern technology and enjoy the benefits that this will produce for patient care.”