Cardiovascular Business - October/November 2007 - (Page 18) teCh treNds › by nanCy Z aCks GET SMART New Intelligence Inside Contrast Media Injectors Thanks to new, more intelligent interfacing capabilities based on new open software protocols, next-generation contrast injectors support more complex injection protocols and integrate with information systems, while keeping pace with increasing CT scanner speeds. W Not just a ‘power injector’ ith more precise timing of contrast delivery, extravasation detection, and a more robust connection between injectors and scanners, next-generation contrast delivery systems are no longer just power injectors. “Contrast injectors are getting better, safer, and more programmable,” says Joel Platt, MD, head of the abdominal radiology division at the University of Michigan School of Medicine. “We want a power injector to be safe, reliable, and smart.” Safety has improved with the ability to deliver only the contrast required. In the rare, but serious event of extravasation, a sensing system can detect a mild pooling of the blood before the extravasation becomes moderate or severe. Medrad just announced a new extravasation system that uses RF (radio frequency) to detect minor pooling of blood, stop injection, and notify the user. More precise timing also provides the ability to deliver only the needed amount of contrast, reducing the risk of contrast nephropathy in certain patients, and makes the CT procedure more comfortable with reduced scanning times. “Safety and reliability improve as contrast injectors get smarter and we get smarter about how to use them,” Platt says. Dean Langwiser, CT technologist in the cardiac cath lab at University of California, Irvine, a show site for Medrad, will be one of the first to use Medrad’s new XDS extravasation detector. “We’re injecting 4ccs a second and we have a 10second window from the start of the injection until Contrast is injected and monitored during a cardiac computed tomography angiography procedure using toshiba america Medical system’s 64-slice aquilion Ct at steinberg diagnostic Medical imaging Centers in las Vegas. we start scanning,” he explains. Halfway through the scan, the patient starts getting saline instead of contrast. “It’s a very different viscosity so it often builds up back pressure which prevents the patients from getting about 50ccs of saline.” That results in a lot of pain and the potential for compartment syndrome. Although that doesn’t happen as much as it used to, Langwiser says, it still occurs in about one in 50 patients. “To me, that’s a substantial number. It affects the scan. The discomfort causes the patient to move and it also prevents full washout of the right side of the heart.” Langwiser says the new technology shouldn’t affect workflow at all. “It’s just a matter of putting a patch over the injection site. 18 Cardiovascular Business October/November 2007
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