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MUSC to offer South’s first dual source scanner by Mary Helen Yarborough Public Relations MUSC has become the only hospital in the South, and one of only five hospitals in the country, to launch the latest technology for scanning the heart to detect the subtlest of trouble spots.   On Oct. 9, MUSC will begin operating the dual source CT scanner developed by Siemens Medical. It will enable radiologists to perform non-invasive tests on patients showing signs of cardiac illness much more quickly and less costly than other methods.   Drs. Joseph Schoepf, left, and Philip Costello with the new dual source CT scanner. The dual source CT is a significant enhancement compared with the 64-slice CT technology, which MUSC also has. The dual source CT reduces radiation by up to 75 percent compared to the 64 slice CT. Beta blockers, which currently are needed to slow the heart rate, will not be required in most patients, said U. Joseph Schoepf, M.D., director of MUSC’s CT research and development.   MUSC is considered among the world’s top institutions for cardiac imaging as studies are interpreted by internationally renowned radiologists and cardiologists. Schoepf recently was voted among the top 10 cardiovascular imagers internationally by Medical Imaging Magazine and made the shortlist of Most Influential Radiology Researchers on AuntMinnie.com, the most widely read imaging Web site. He also has been named this year’s recipient of the Dr. Jean A. Vezina Award in Innovation and Excellence of the French-Canadian Society of Radiology (Prix d’Innovation et d’Excellence de la Fondation Dr. Jean A. Vezina, Société Canadienne-Française de Radiologie). He will receive the award in Montreal.   The new CT technology represents a $2.2-million investment by MUSC. The schedule for patients seeking to use it already is booked for two weeks into October, said Philip Costello, M.D., chairman of MUSC’s Department of Radiology. Costello said he expects to scan at least 20 patients a day with the dual source CT.   The technology is especially useful in detecting cardiac illness in women, Schoepf said, considering that women show very misleading and subtle signs of heart disease.   “The dual source CT would help us assess a patient for heart disease when an EKG or nuclear test show equivocal findings, but the suspicion is not high enough to send the patient straight for an invasive heart catheterization,” Schoepf said.   Unlike the nuclear tests, in which radioactive material is injected into a patient to assess the function of the heart, the dual source CT uses X-rays to actually “freeze the image of heart and vascular system.” This enables radiologists to directly see the heart and coronary arteries and pinpoint exactly where the trouble is.   “It’s like a fast shutter speed on a camera,” Schoepf said. “We’re able to double the ability to freeze the image of the entire heart and cut in half the time needed to do it.”   The technology is part of a strategic alliance that MUSC entered into with Siemens Medical Solutions USA, Inc.   The alliance, announced in the summer, will provide MUSC $40 million worth of groundbreaking technology during the next several years, and is designed to establish the academic Medical Center as one of the nation’s preeminent institutions for imaging in clinical care and scientific research.   MUSC already is considered one of the nation’s leading radiological research centers, providing information to researchers and clinicians worldwide, Costello said.   The agreement will bring to MUSC a broad array of the latest in imaging equipment that will provide patients with access to the best diagnostic tools available, and will provide researchers with technology to advance the applications of imaging in nearly every field of medicine.     Friday, Oct. 6, 2006 Catalyst Online is published weekly, updated as needed and improved from time to time by the MUSC Office of Public Relations for the faculty, employees and students of the Medical University of South Carolina. Catalyst Online editor, Kim Draughn, can be reached at 792-4107 or by email, catalyst@musc.edu. Editorial copy can be submitted to Catalyst Online and to The Catalyst in print by fax, 792-6723, or by email to catalyst@musc.edu. To place an ad in The Catalyst hardcopy, call Island Publications at 849-1778, ext. 201.