The Brooklyn Hospital Center Unveils Cutting Edge Imaging Technology

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Caption L-R: Councilwoman Letitia James, Congresswoman Yvette Clarke, Dr. Richard B. Becker, Samuel Lehrfeld and Earl Weiner

BROOKLYN, NY (09/05/2008)(readMedia)--

The Brooklyn Hospital Center unveils a new, state-of-the-art Computed Tomography (CT) imaging system, the GE LightSpeed 64 Slice VCT system. This cutting edge technology allows The Brooklyn Hospital Center’s physicians to more quickly obtain the information they need to diagnose disease and life threatening illnesses, including cardiovascular disease, stroke and chest pain.

“This new scanner is just the latest investment by our hospital as we continue to provide the highest quality of health care, right here in Brooklyn,” said Dr. Richard Becker, President and CEO of The Brooklyn Hospital Center. “We are matching top-notch care with cutting edge technology to increase the speed and accuracy of patient exams and are now able to offer new and enhanced diagnostic procedures, as well.”

The purchase of the $1.4 million dollar scanner was made possible in part through a grant secured by Congresswoman Yvette Clarke. Congresswoman Clarke serves New York’s 11^th District, which includes Brooklyn. The Congresswoman helped secure a large portion of the funding for the purchase of the CT scanner when she was serving on the New York City Council.

The new technology will allow physicians to capture images of a beating heart in five seconds, an organ in one second and perform whole body trauma scanning in ten seconds, which is more than twice as fast as conventional multi-slice CT scanners. The speed is particularly beneficial for older patients, patients who are on ventilators and children.

“Our new CT system allows us to perform new and enhanced procedures and get the information we need to diagnose patients,” said Dr. Douglas Kiviat, Chairman of The Department of Radiology “In the case of chest pain or stroke we know that time is a critical factor and this new tool is a major step forward for our physicians and patients. The faster scans will reduce patient stress and anxiety and some case we can now do multiple scanning procedures in one exam.”

In a single rotation, the scan will create a 64 slice high-resolution image, which will produce a three-dimensional view of the patient’s anatomy to be analyzed. These images will provide insight for physicians to view such things as blockages in the coronary arteries, in addition to the motion and pumping of the heart.

Established in 1845 as the borough’s first hospital, The Brooklyn Hospital Center provides a variety of inpatient and outpatient services and education programs to improve the well being of its community. A member of the New York-Presbyterian Healthcare System and affiliated with Weill Medical College of Cornell University, the hospital and its primary and ambulatory care centers serve more than 500,000 people annually. To learn more, please visit www.tbh.org.