Within the first few months of 2007, Minden Medical Center will install the latest computed tomography (CT) imaging software and machinery, also known as a 64-slice CT scanner.

While current generation CT scanners are fine for most applications, the device will produce precise diagnostic pictures within five to 10 seconds, enabling one to "freeze" motion and better define certain disease processes.

For patients experiencing symptoms associated with heart disease, the new scanner will provide improved resolution of images of the coronary arteries that may obviate the need for more invasive testing.

The scanner can also be used for other important applications, such as identifying narrowed brain arteries that put patients at risk of having a stroke, and for evaluating blood flow in other organs such as the liver and kidney.

To produce a CT image, computer-driven machinery passes X-rays through the body, producing digitized signals that are detected and reconstructed. Each X-ray measurement lasts just a fraction of a second and represents a "slice" of an organ or tissue.

The more detectors a scanner has, the closer they can be packed together, which improves resolution. In addition, faster gathering of slices results in increased speed. The computer then collects the images, stacks up the slices like a loaf of bread with each slice thinner than a penny, and presents a three-dimensional picture of the inside of the body. Software allows the radiologist to adjust the images to highlight specific tissues.

The multi-detector scanners can be packed less than a millimeter apart and take less than half a second to circle the body.

A 16-slice scanner can cover 8 to 12 millimeters in one pass or about an inch a second. A 40-slice scanner collects images covering 20 to 32 millimeters in a single pass and a tightly packed 64-slice device can cover about 40 millimeters at a pass, which takes 0.4 seconds.

At that rate, a 64-slice scanner can gather a high-resolution image of a heart, brain or a pair of lungs in about five seconds. A scan of the whole body, (in search of a blood clot, for example, that has become a source of emboli) takes about 30 seconds.

The technology has been particularly exciting for studying the beating heart, providing the first clear non-invasive images of the heart and its major vessels. The scans can be timed to use only images gathered between contractions, so that the heart and its vessels can be seen without the blurring caused by motion.

Knee replacement
In other break-through news, there is now a "his" and "hers" when it comes to knee replacement.   
Orthopaedic Surgeon Dr. Tim Talbert was one of the first physicians to implant the Gender Solutions High-Flex Knee in a procedure in September.  Dr Talbert performed the implant procedure at Minden Medical Center.

"I'm now able to offer knee replacements shaped to fit either a man's or a woman's anatomy," Dr. Talbert said.  
This new implant was unveiled in May 2006 at a joint press conference by one of the surgeon developers, Robert E. Booth, M.D., Chief of Orthopaedic Surgery at Pennsylvania Hospital, and Zimmer, a worldwide leader in orthopaedics.

The Gender Solutions High-Flex Knee is designed based on three distinct and scientifically documented shape differences between women's and men's knees and a sophisticated and highly detailed map of the joint, which was created using three-dimensional computed tomography (CT) imaging.

"The goal of the design was for the implant to assist in alleviating knee pain and restoring mobility while offering fit and function that is optimized for the characteristics more commonly seen in male and female patients," Talbert said. "It is encouraging to have this new technology available so soon in the Minden area.

"The new Gender Solutions  High-Flex Knee is designed to feel better and move the way their knee moved when it was healthier,"  he continued.  "This is the most recent technology available for both male and female patients and the most unique approach in knee replacement. This new technology brings knee implants from working very well for men and women to providing a fit that will meet the special needs of both male and female, making it feel, fit and function even better."   

Zimmers distributes the Gender Solutions High-Flex Knee to U.S. orthopaedic surgeons and hospitals as part of Zimmer's NexGen Complete Knee System. Zimmer branded knees have been implanted in more than five million patients worldwide and, in 2002, the company became the first to reach one million total knee replacements in the United States. The Gender Solutions Knee will be implanted using existing, clinically successful surgical techniques, including Zimmer's minimally invasive approaches.

"When using knee implants, orthopedic surgeons found differences in the bones, ligaments and tendons in the joints, and that a woman's knee is not simply a smaller version of a man's knee," Talbert said. "With this knowledge, a revolutionary knee implant was designed specifically to fit the special sizes and differences. The new design should mean added patient comfort. Prior total knee implants designs were primarily base on the male anatomy despite the fact that a majority of total knee implants were being performed on females."

Dr. Talbert said 70-percent of total knee replacements he performs are in females. The design specifically addresses the female bone anatomy and allows for a more anatomic reconstruction with a theoretically superior outcome due to the more normal physiologic restoration.

Nearly two-thirds of the more than 400,000 annual knee replacement patients are women, according to the National Center for Health Statistics, and the numbers continue to increase each year. Research shows that while both women and men vastly under use knee replacement, women are three times less likely than men to undergo the procedure.  

"By using a minimally invasive technique along with the Gender Solutions Knee, patients can look at getting back to normal daily activity and functional independence. With the knee shaped to fit women's anatomy, it is expected that more women will want to consider knee replacement with an expectation of even better results," said Dr. Talbert.

Balloon Kyphoplasty
Minden Medical Center and Dr. William Whyte, MD,  have announced that they are offering balloon Kyphoplasty as a treatment option for patients suffering from spinal fractures due to osteoporosis.

Balloon Kyphoplasty is a minimally invasive procedure that repairs spinal deformity due to osteoporotic fractures, significantly reducing back pain and improving patients' ability to return to activities of daily living. Osteoporosis is a disease in which bones become fragile and easily broken, which causes the bones of the spine to weaken and often collapse (resulting in what are called vertebral compression fractures).  

Traditional treatments for patients with vertebral compression fractures include bed rest, medication and back bracing. While these therapies may help to decrease a patient's pain over time, they do not treat the deformity related to the osteoporotic fractures.  

Balloon Kyphoplasty is designed to repair vertebral compression fractures and restore the vertebrae to the correct position, reducing back pain, reducing the number of days in bed, significantly improving mobility and increasing overall quality of life. The procedure generally takes less than one hour to treat one fracture, and has been performed under both local and general anesthesia. In most cases, Medicare provides coverage for Kyphoplasty.

Other insurance may also provide coverage.

According to the National Osteoporosis Foundation, each year 700,000 patients suffer vertebral compression fractures due to osteoporosis in the U.S. alone.  

Unfortunately, over 400,000 of these fractures go undiagnosed and untreated due in part to lack of awareness about osteoporosis and available treatment options, leading some to call osteoporosis a "silent disease."

New Defibrillators
Minden Medical Center has purchased and installed Medtronic LIFEPAK 2-defibrillator for use in the hospital. This equipment has advanced technology to improve therapy for saving the lives of those whose hearts go into sudden cardiac arrest.

The LIFEPAk 20 includes both manual and automated external defibrillator (AED) functionality for hospital setting and it offers a wide range of escalating energy settings for patients who are difficult to defibrillate or cardiovert.

"It is important to us to provide the best equipment to the patients of Minden Medical Center. We believe the added advantages of the external function in the LIFEPAK 20 as well as its portability will be an excellent addition for employees and our patients," said Minden Medical Center CEO George E. French III.

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