La Spezia, 18 June 2024 – Introduced officially new today device for the Computed axial tomography (Tac), operational for a few days in Radiology of the emergency room of the Sant’Andrea hospital in Spezia.
The timetable therefore continues modernization of the hospital technological and digital park financed by the European Union with Pnrr funds, thanks to the Next Generation Eu: this CT scan, in fact, is the second to be installed to the Saint Andrew where, since 7 April, an identical device has been in use in Radiology.
“The CT scan we inaugurated today – he declares Paolo Cavagnarogeneral director of ASL 5 – is the second in the space of a few months installed at the Sant’Andrea hospital (the first was intended for Radiology for hospitalized and external patients) and will be predominantly dedicated to the emergency room and to patients admitted to emergency medicine so as to halve response times for citizens in a department that is often plagued by overcrowding. Both machinery they are part of a larger project that also involves others investments, 8 in total. A new machine for nuclear magnetic resonance will be installed at San Bartolomeo in Sarzana, a digital mammograph with tomosynthesis and another is already operational at the Bragarina site. identical will be installed at Sant’Andrea. Radiology has also been enriched with a ultrasound scanner and a remote-controlled x-ray table will arrive soon. Finally, the Cardiology of Sant’Andrea, electrophysiology section, will have a cardiological angiograph. They all are renovations technologies that help the doctor in diagnosis also thanks to the application of artificial intelligence, do not replace humans but constitute an important support for diagnoses”.
The new tomograph computerized GE Healthcare mod. Evolution Evo – 128 layers in use in emergency room radiology is part, like its operational twin in radiology, of the so-called third generation of Tac (from 2019 to the future) which uses a method of reconstruction images it is based on algorithms of artificial intelligence that use a dedicated neural network to generate images. The applications of such algorithms in the medical and medical fields diagnostics CT scans are very recent and undergoing rapid evolution: they allow the acquisition of very high quality CT images quality with a natural texture and with very low levels of X-ray radiation dose delivered to the patient, estimated at approximately 40% less than second generation CT scans.
“This new CT scan, the second to be replaced at Sant’Andrea – he states Giacomo Raul Giampedroneregional councilor for social and health policies – is part of a broader plan that involves all of ours structures hospitals for the purchase and the installation of new and modern equipment thanks to the resources of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. A plan that this administration is pursuing in a determined manner in full compliance with the stringent deadlines foreseen by Europe: an unrepeatable opportunity to guarantee our citizens cutting-edge machinery and structures, with important relapses also on the social side, inextricably linked to the healthcare sector”.
Compared to the Radiology CT scan, which is equipped with a software package for advanced neurological analyzes (specific for stroke, hematoma and cerebral aneurysm checks), the machine present in the ED is equipped with advanced cardiological software (SnapShot Freeze 2) which addresses one of the largest challenges in cardio CT: stopping the movement of the coronary arteries and of the entire heart which here, thanks to this new reconstruction and processing technique, can be reduced up to 6 times. To this important new one function others are added including: the acquisition of images of parameters cardiac functionalities such as ejection fraction (EF) and ventricular volume; volumetric analysis of the cardiac chambers; there detection automatic endocardial and epicardial contours for assessment of the functional parameters of the left ventricle (LV), right ventricle (RV) and left atrium; automatic selection of epicardium and endocardium for myocardial analysis; there reconstruction three-dimensional view of the left atrium for navigation through systems mapping dedicated to electrophysiology.
“The new CT scan is a further fundamental and indispensable tool for healthcare personnel, to be used in different situations to provide a diagnosis and to define patient care – declares the mayor Pierluigi Peracchini – . From today our hospital gets an instrument made with latest generation technologies which will be a disposition of patients, reducing waiting times and increasing the effectiveness of the exam. A result important which confirms the attention towards healthcare of the Region and ASL5, which are working on synergy realizing investments never seen in the history of healthcare in La Spezia, which led us to hire over 150 OSS and become recently the second ASL in Italy by number of nurses every 10 thousand inhabitants, as reported by Il Sole 24 Ore”.
