Teleradiology Solutions, leading provider of teleradiology services in India, has installed the 64 slice CT scanner at Narayana Hrudayalaya Institute of Medical Sciences, the Bangalore-based leading cardiac care centre.

The 64 slice is a high tech ultra fast CT Machine, which gives 64 images (slice) in one rotation of the X-ray tube in a single breath hold (5 -10 seconds). These scanners are able to produce images so quickly that they can take a picture of the heart and the coronary arteries surrounding it, despite the heart's constant motion. This allows doctors to see blockages inside blood vessels that are caused by a build up of plaque, a condition called coronary artery disease or artherosclerosis. The primary advantage of the 64 slice CT is its non-invasive diagnosis, as against the traditional, invasive angiogram, which would require that the patient spend over six hours on his / her back for X-rays and have a catheter threaded into the artery, according to Dr. Arjun Kalyanpur, CEO Teleradiology Solutions.

"There has been an alarming, threefold increase in the prevalence of coronary artery disease in India over the past forty years. Based on current trends, in five years, sixty percent of heart patients worldwide will be of Indian origin. It is therefore imperative for people with high-risk of heart disease in the family to get themselves examined and make the necessary changes to their lifestyle, diet and exercise habits to prevent a heart attack," he added.

People with heart related symptoms like chest pain or shortness of breath that have got abnormal or unclear results from a stress test are likely to benefit from having a scan instead of an invasive exam. Patients who have gone to an emergency room because of sudden symptoms often benefit from a high-speed CT scan to detect heart attack, stroke or rupture of a major blood vessel.

Teleradiology Solutions, established in 2002 to provide US and Indian hospitals with teleradiology services, now provides teleradiology services to hospitals around the globe, which includes interpretation of all non-invasive imaging studies, namely CT, MRI, ultrasound, nuclear medicine studies and digitized X-rays via teleradiology (remote interpretation). The company provides subspecialty consultations in cardiovascular imaging to hospitals in India, including Narayana Hrudayalaya and Columbia Asia. The company was recently certified by the Joint Commission of Accreditation for Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO).