So in our dream ambulance thread several years back we asked for a CT scanner in the back. Well...

EMTinCT

Forum Crew Member
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Neat-o.

I just read that the FDA has approved a CT + software package that can reliably scan coronary arteries, obviating the need for cauterization in order to detect coronary artery disease. Maybe this can also help in ruling in/out MIs?

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/835558

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today approved a software program that can noninvasively identify coronary artery blockages, avoiding the need to diagnose the problem via cardiac catheterization.

The software is FFR-CT, from a company called HeartFlow. As its name suggests, FFR-CT calculates fractional flow reserve (FFR), a key measurement in diagnosing coronary artery disease, based on computed tomography (CT) scans of the patient's heart. Expressed as a ratio, FFR compares the maximum achievable blood flow in a diseased coronary artery with the theoretical maximum flow in a normal one. Cardiologists generally consider an FFR below 0.75 to 0.80 to be associated with myocardial ischemia.
 

MonkeyArrow

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Oh yeah. I've seen that and as I reflected on the dream ambulance thread, I saw just how feasible that is to have in the next 5 years. As we continue to scale down technologies, if we can already put a CT scanner in a Type I ambulance, think of how widespread this can be if:
  • technologies continue to be made smaller and more portable
  • CT scanners become more widespread, and thus, cheaper
  • community para medicine becomes a tried and true, implementable program across the country
For reference, here is the thread that we are referring to: http://emtlife.com/threads/dream-ambulance.37762/
 
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