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Multislice CT

The development of multislice CT (MSCT) has been a major leap forward in CT technology. The first MSCT scanner was introduced in clinical practice late in 1998 and allowed four contiguous slices to be scanned per rotation at the high speed of 0.5 s. Recently, MSCT machines that can scan 8, 16 or 32 contiguous slices per rotation at subsecond times have been introduced. The potential of MSCT is tremendous, but consensus on the best use of this versatile technology has not yet been reached. In addition, the radiation dose to the patient remains a source of concern with MSCT.

In this Special Issue of the BJR, several authors will share their experience of the use of MSCT and will describe in detail practical scanning and imaging protocols in different clinical settings.

The current shortage of radiological staff and increasing demand on radiological time call for a pragmatic approach to the use of MSCT. It is important to restrict the imaging strategy to what is clinically essential and to resist the temptation of producing impressive multiplanar or three-dimensional images just because it is possible.

The use of workstations for reporting, with digital storage, is the optimal practice and those of you planning a multislice CT service should take into consideration the implications of providing such a service and the requirements necessary for accurate reporting and data handling. The amount of data produced by a modern MSCT scanner is too great for it to be handled by hard copy alone.

It is important that protocols for image reconstruction should be available for different clinical indications. These protocols should be suitable for implementation by the radiographic staff to minimize the demand on overstretched radiological time. The reconstructed images should be readily available at the workstation for review by the radiologist. Further image reconstruction and manipulation should be reserved only for difficult cases.

It is hoped that this special issue will provide practical guidelines to the users of MSCT, particularly those who are overworked in busy imaging departments of District General Hospitals.

Dr S K Morcos, FRCS, FFRRCSI, FRCR

Consultant Radiologist, Northern General Hospital, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Sheffield S5 7AU, UK

Professor J Weir, MBBS, FRCP(ED), FRANZCR, FRCR

Clinical Professor of Radiology, Aberdeen Teaching Hospitals, Aberdeen, Scotland, UK

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