|
Advances in medical imaging crucial for quick diagnosis
(Philippine Daily Inquirer Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)THE CONTINUOUSLY IMPROVING CApability of medical imaging is helping more and more doctors worldwide to quickly and accurately diagnose cardiovascular problems, eliminating unnecessary invasive diagnostic procedures while guiding them to appropriate treatment decisions.
"Imaging technology today is providing a far more accurate and insightful glimpse into the patient's body than ever before. As a result, doctors can now get to the heart of the medical matter more quickly, more effectively and as much as possible, in a noninvasive and painless procedure for the patient," said Dr. Joseph Coselli, chief of Adult Cardiac Surgery at the Texas Heart Institute and associate chief of the Cardiovascular Service at St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital in Texas.
Coselli, who specializes in the diseases of the aorta and has performed over 2,000 repairs of aortic aneurysms, recently spoke before the 17th Biennial Congress of the Association of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgeons of Asia in Makati City.
Helpful in aneurysms
"Improved medical imaging systems, like today's 64-slice scanners, are especially helpful in evaluating patients with aortic aneurysm since they may help determine whether a patient should undergo surgery or is a good candidate for stent grafting," he said.
A stent graft is a fabric tube that reinforces a weak spot in a blood vessel.
Aortic aneurysm, or the stretching and bulging in the section of the wall of the aorta, is dangerous because it can go undetected. Left untreated, it can rupture and cause severe internal bleeding and, often, death.
Coselli said today's generation of medical scanners combine unrivaled image quality with remarkable speed, producing detailed pictures in a few seconds and providing sharp, clear, three-dimensional images, including blood vessels.
The technology has been helpful particularly for studying the heart since the scanners can provide clear noninvasive images of the heart and its major vessels as well as the location of the problem, if any.
Early detection, according to Coselli, allows doctors to closely monitor changes in the size or other characteristics of the aneurysm and helps them help measure the risk for rupture and to compare the risk of rupture with the risks of surgery.
"The sooner we can identify the problem, the sooner we can intervene in its progression or initiate appropriate treatment," said Coselli.
[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
|
Find Solutions for Enterprises, SMBs & Service Providers at the INTERNET TELEPHONY Conference and EXPO West, September 16-18, 2008. Los Angeles, California.
