Michigan Medicine radiology researchers are exploring the use of mobile CT as a possible alternative means to assess COVID-19 patients, the institution announced Tuesday.
Such scanners are one of several topics currently being investigated by members of the school’s Center for Integrative Research in Critical Care. Craig Galban, PhD, from the Michigan Medicine Department of Radiology, and colleagues believe portable computed tomography could help with quick lung assessment, without some of the major concerns presented by fixed machines.
“Present CT scanning is time consuming due to required decontamination of the machine and room between patients, and it currently requires transporting patients from an intensive care unit to radiology care areas, posing an increased risk of exposure,” the research center noted in an April 21 announcement. “Providing portable bedside scanning could alleviate these risks and expedite the management of patients.”
Robert Dickson, MD, associate director of center, is currently connecting with local imaging companies to help develop a solution. The Center for Integrative Research in Critical Care is additionally exploring several other pain points for providers during the pandemic. Those include possibly building an in-house personal protective equipment assembly line, along with a cytokine detection platform. Michigan has been one of the hardest-hit states in the U.S.—with about 33,000 cases and 2,700 deaths as of Wednesday—and the institution is not pulling any punches.
“MCIRCC and its members from across U-M are using every available resource to continue research that could help protect our healthcare workers and expand our capacity to provide critical care,” Dickson, who is also associate director of the center, said in a statement.
Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.