Siemens Healthineers won FDA clearance for the company’s SOMATOM On.site mobile head CT scanner. The device can be easily brought in directly into patient rooms thanks to its powered wheels and an on-board battery.
Normally, patients have to be moved to the CT scanner, wherever it may be within a hospital. With the SOMATOM On.site, patients that need head scans do not have to be unnecessarily disturbed, reducing the potential for injury and further aggravation of a condition during transport. Moreover, since only one person is required to move the new CT scanner from room to room, fewer clinical staff are tied up than when moving a bedridden patient.
On the front of the scanner there’s a built-in camera that lets the person moving it see what’s ahead, helping to avoid people and objects on the way.
Once ready for scanning, the headboard under the patient can be removed and the head positioned inside the scanner. A head holder and shoulder board on the scanner assist in getting the proper alignment for scanning. No cables or tubes that are attached to the patient need be removed for a successful scan.
After the exam, scans are automatically passed to the hospital’s radiological image database and a radiologist can review them right away.
“The SOMATOM On.site transforms the delivery of care for critically ill patients who require a CT head scan,” said Douglas Ryan, VP of Computed Tomography at Siemens Healthineers North America, in the announcement. “The system delivers reliable and consistent image quality demanded by healthcare professionals in the ICU, neurology, and radiology departments. Additionally, bedside imaging helps to reduce patient transports, thereby reducing the risk of infection while improving workforce efficiency.”
Here’s a Siemens Healthineers video presenting the SOMATOM On.site:
Product page: SOMATOM On.site
Flashback: SOMATOM On.site: A Portable CT Scanner for Bedside Head Exams
Via: Siemens Healthineers