CT scanning
With the instalment of a second 64-slice CT scanner, waiting times at The Royal London A&E department have been significantly reduced. Patients are usually seen within two weeks of being referred.
Costing £650,000, the new scanners produce four times as many cross-section images, building up pictures of any body party and can produce detailed 3-D images things like bones, blood vessels, heart, growths and tumours as well as cardiac CT scans.
CT scanning involves using x-rays and computers to produce images of internal organs.
The CT scanners at The London Chest Hospital, Barts Hospital and The Royal London Hospital all specialise in different scans.
The London Chest specialises in lung and heart scans; The Royal London specialise in biopsies, steroid injections under CT scan control, trauma scans and scans for children; Barts in scans for cancer patients.
Each patient is reviewed on an individual basis and referred to the most appropriate site.
Sometimes you will be asked not to eat anything four hours prior to your appointment. You may also need to have a dye injected into a vein in your arm to show the blood vessels and organs.
The length of your scan may vary depending on the area of your body being scanned. Allow at least two hours for your appointment.
You will not be given the results of your scan immediately. The radiologist will examine the scans and send a detailed report through to the doctor who referred you. The results will then be discussed at your next appointment.
New location for medical imaging at The Royal London Hospital
The diagnostic imaging suite has moved to the first and second floor of the main building. Click here to find out how to get to the new department and for new contact details.
