What is ultrafast CT?
In conventional x-rays, a beam of energy is aimed at the body part being studied. A plate behind the body part captures the variations of the energy beam after it passes through skin, bone, muscle, and other tissue. While much information can be obtained from a regular x-ray, a lot of detail about internal organs and other structures is not available. In computed tomography (CT or CAT) scan, the x-ray beam moves in a circle around the body. This allows many different views of the same organ or structure, and provides much greater detail. The x-ray information is sent to a computer that interprets the x-ray data and displays it in 2-dimensional form on a monitor. While many images are taken during a CT scan, less radiation is received by the patient than with a single standard x-ray, in many cases. A new technology called ultrafast CT (computed tomography) has begun to be used in the past few years to diagnose heart disease. Ultrafast CT can take multiple images of the heart within the
