Thomas Hospital offers the advanced diagnostic capabilities of a new multi-slice CT Imaging System at both the main hospital in Fairhope and at Thomas Medical Center in Daphne.

The 16-slice scanner, by Philips, is one of the most technologically advanced scanners on the Gulf Coast. For example, the 16-slice CT Scanner, which uses new software called Brilliance, reduces a one-minute scan to 12-15 seconds.

Additionally, the multi-slice images, combined with the image-handling software, allow the radiologists and the CT technologists to better view the head, chest, abdomen, pelvis, and extremities, and get a more precise block of information for a quicker and more accurate diagnosis.

The ultra fast CT Scanner in Daphne allows Thomas Medical Center to offer Cardiac Scoring, a completely non-invasive method of determining how much calcification is in a person’s coronary arteries.

This calcification, which shows up in the hard plaque that forms in the arteries as a result of coronary disease, can appear in a CT Cardiac Scoring exam and can show evidence of coronary disease before a critical narrowing of the arteries is present. Additionally, the slow build-up of hard plaque may have no accompanying symptoms to warn the patient that he or she is at risk for a heart attack.

In addition to the cardiac scoring exam, the ultra fast CT Scanner gives patients and their physicians access to a wider range of screening tools for faster and more accurate diagnoses.