CT Technology Reveals Secrets Gleaned from Mummies, Tigers, Mammoths

The second International Day of Radiology, sponsored by the European Society of Radiology (ESR), the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA), and the American College of Radiology (ACR), which took place on November 8, 2013, was planned to promote greater awareness of the value that radiology contributes to healthcare, and to improve understanding of the role radiologists play in healthcare.

The recent radiology event discussed the impact of modern medical imaging technology, including computed tomography (CT), which is a field in which great advancements have been made in terms of medical research. What many people are unaware of, however, are the many technological and industrial applications that CT technology can contributes to, in addition to patient care. CT techniques are increasingly being used on object preservation and accessibility because of its advantages over conventional digital photography.

“CT scanning has been used to scan Egyptian mummies,” said Bob Senzig, chief engineer, computed tomography at GE Healthcare (Chalfont St. Giles, UK). “The CT technology has been used to help date the mummy and find out where it came from by determining the extent of calcification and/or cardiac disease. Similarly, CT has been used to scan fossilized wooly mammoths and more recently, zoos have used CT to scan tigers with health problems. I was also working on a project a while back that had us scanning horse hoofs for hairline fractures that can affect the way they run.“

CT has shown itself to be a very effective application in the identification of explosives and other security threats in airport checked and checkpoint baggage. “For security reasons, airline baggage and even railroad cars are scanned routinely across the United States using CT technology to identify contraband, among other things,” said Mr. Senzig.

The imaging technology was introduced after the devastation caused on the Pan Am flight 103 in 1988 over Lockerbie (Scotland, UK) when governments committed to using CT scanning at airports to help reduce the risk of a recurrence of this type of incident.

The noninvasive diagnostic-imaging character of CT has allowed clinicians to inspect the interior of the body for a more comprehensive evaluation during and after the procedure. “For example, visualizing the placement of the screws and fixtures to reconstruct a patient’s spine is critical in order to achieve the desired outcome,” commented Mr. Senzig. “There are a lot of nerves in the spinal cord that you don’t want to exert pressure on and CT can be used while the surgery is taking place. The CT procedure is a lot more interventional and has not been possible in the past.”

Mr. Senzig also identified sports medicine as another area in which CT has proved vital, and could eventually be used on a regular basis. Technological enhancements and improvements in the better understanding of the disabilities that may result from sporting injuries are crucial in its acceptance within this industry.

In September 2013, researchers who had been searching for the French ship “Le Griffon” used GE’s cutting-edge imaging technology to provide new clues into the 300-year old mystery. A piece of timber found in Lake Michigan (USA), was positioned inside a GE LightSpeed VCT XT 64-slice CT scanner to measure its age. The findings, which will be revealed in time, are another validation of the CT’s well-designed, technologic capabilities that are increasingly being discovered by the nonmedical research community, according to GE Healthcare spokespersons.

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