Researchers at Western University, in London, Canada, have developed a CT scanner small enough to sit on a desk in the classroom. The DeskCAT Multi-slice CT Scanner is a novel and interactive tool to teach CT imaging techniques to students. Rather than using x-rays, the DeskCAT educational scanner uses visible light rays to form multiple views of a transparent sample. The mathematical method of reconstructing the 3D picture of the specimen’s interior from many views through the object, is identical to that used in the full-scale clinical x-ray system.
Jerry Battista, Professor in Medical Biophysics, commented in the press release:
Teaching the basics of a CT scanner is very complicated. Usually you end up filling a board with equations, and students get lost. It’s hard to get access to a clinical scanner for a more practical explanation because of the heavy clinical workload. So basically, we miniaturized a CT scanner to bring it into the classroom. The advantage of using light instead of x-rays for teaching is that the scanner can be brought into the classroom or laboratory without the hazards of x-ray exposure. Another advantage is that students can ‘see the light’ passing through the specimen whereas x-rays are invisible to the human eye. This provides unique insight!
DeskCAT is now being manufactured, and distributed to other universities by Modus Medical Devices, Inc. of London, ON, Canada.
Product page: DeskCAT™ Multi-slice CT Scanner for Education …