Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/551105
3 6 | PULSE S u m m e r 2 0 1 5 One of these advanced machines is the dual- tube, 64-slice computed tomography (CT) scanner. "e machine is very, very fast. If a patient is moving—maybe because they are in pain or trauma—the faster you can scan them, the better detection you can get," says Dr. So. Scanning from head to toe can take just seconds. Speed is also important to capture organs in motion—like the heart—where physicians want to get an image frozen in time. Another feature of the CT scanner is its dual- energ y source. Dr. So notes that the benefit of having two different energ y sources (as opposed to one—common in conventional CT scanners) is that you can reduce the number of artifacts, or noise, that the machine picks up. Because artifacts can mimic patholog y or interfere with the interpretation of a scan, their reduction is critical to successful imaging. Speed is also important when doing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), a non-invasive means to construct pictures of the body that is especially useful for so tissue like the brain, muscles and heart. Like the name implies, this machine uses a magnetic field; the strength of the magnetic field is measured in a unit called a Tesla. Most conventional scanners are 1.5 Tesla, but Torrance Memorial has a 3.0 Tesla machine. e greater strength results in a faster, more detailed and higher resolution scan, says Dr. So. Because the MRI also has more "channels" or ways to pick up these signals, the scanners are able to get more resolution. ese advancements in machinery don't just mean a faster scan for the patient. ey can also result in fewer invasive procedures. Traditionally, if a patient had an aneurysm or a blockage of a blood vessel, it would have required a conventional angiogram and catheterization. But with a 3T MR scanner or dual-source, high-speed CT scanner, physicians have a better picture of the problematic area, and patients may be able to avoid biopsies and other invasive procedures like catheterization. Fixing the blood vessel also becomes more streamlined, because physicians now have a "map" of where to direct the treatment, notes Dr. So. BREAST IMAGING Another area where Torrance Memorial stands at the cutting edge of imaging is at the medical center's Breast Diagnostic Centers. Recognized as centers of excellence by the American College of Radiolog y, the breast imaging centers now have two digital tomosynthesis (TOMO) machines, also known as 3-D mammography, currently in Torrance and Manhattan Beach. A normal mammogram creates a two- dimensional picture of the breast, taking images from top to bottom and side to side. With three- dimensional imaging, the breast is positioned the same way it is with a normal mammogram, but an X-ray moves around it while images are taken in layers. While normal mammograms are very useful, they can "hide" or obscure fine details. "It's like the princess and pea," says Patricia Sacks, MD, medical director of the Vasek and Anna Maria Polak Breast Diagnostic Center at Torrance Memorial. "If the pea, or lump, is between mattress number 71 and 72 and you take a two- dimensional picture of it, you're not going to find it. But if you're able to cut between the mattresses, you can find it." In addition, the size of the "pea" is unknown unless you have a way of photographing above and below it. is is what 3-D TOMO allows physicians to do. Dr. Sacks notes that the breast is much more like a ball than a circle, so it only makes sense to image it in a way that reflects the true shape. "A breast is a 3-D structure, and up to this point we've been using a 2-D image to look it," she says. e benefits of this become clear when comparing scans. "If, aer taking a 3-D mammogram, you go back to look at the 2-D, you oen don't see the lump." According to Hologic, which manufactures the 3-D mammography machines, the technolog y can detect 41% more invasive breast cancers and reduces false positives by up to 40%. "WE PAY A LOT OF ATTENTION— AND CAPITAL—TO GETTING THE MOST STATE-OF- THE-ART EQUIPMENT IN OUR DEPARTMENT, AND WE RELY HEAVILY ON IT."