High-speed computed tomography: systems and performance

Lacking temporal resolution prevents routine application of computed tomography (CT) for diagnosis of the heart and blood flow. On the other hand, diseases of the heart and vessels pose the number one health problem in the western world. Many research teams have, therefore, dedicated their effort to expand the benefits of CT-based diagnosis into this field. Their approaches are mentioned in this paper. One of them has been carried through to a commercially available system, the Imatron C-100 CT scanner, which is reviewed in more detail. Its computer system gets an unusually large capacity and is believed to be a good example of the technological push exerted by developments of increasing silicon chip complexity.