Salem Advanced CT Imaging (SACT) opened in May 2006 and is located right in middle of our Salem office. While you can certainly reach us through our main number, you may reach us more directly by calling 603-898-3129. We are pleased to be able to offer the most comprehensive CT services in the area. Here is the partial list of services we provide:

Types of CT Scans

• Abdomen & Pelvis
• Arthrograms (Knee, Hip, Shoulder)*
• Biopsies*
• Cardiac CT Angiography (CCTA)* 3D heart, bypass grafts, mixed plaque, normal artery
• Chest
• Complete Run-Off Studies* run-off studies 1, run-off studies 2
• CT Angiography* carotid artery with plaque, carotid artery,
• Drainages*
• Extremity
• Face, Sinus & Orbits
• Head & Brain
• Kidney, Liver & Lung
• Neck & Spine
• Oncology Workups
• Orthopedics shoulder-fracture
• Pulmonary Emboli
• Spinal and Other Injuries
• Steroid Injections (Hip, Shoulder)*
• Virtual Colonoscopy* virtual colonoscopy
• Whole Body Exams

Our scanner, known as a "64-Slice" CT, is among the fastest and most sophisticated CT scanners in the world today. We were the first provider anywhere in the region (including area hospitals) to acquire this technology and we remain one of only a handful of known providers anywhere to offer this level of CT service in a physician office setting.

It is simply quite extraordinary to have a CT practice of this nature available in a small town community setting. Read More about how we think about the State-of-the-Art in CT.

64-Slice CT has provided patients and doctors with dramatic improvements in speed and accuracy for procedures long-performed on prior generation CT scanners
(e.g., head, brain, abdomen, pelvis, neck and chest) as well as extraordinary new applications including Cardiac CT Angiography (CCTA), a revolutionary non-invasive Heart Scan for assessing Coronary Artery Disease and Heart Attack risk.

We offer the most basic vanilla CT exams and the most advanced CT exams performed anywhere in the world. In both cases, our goal is to provide our patients and their doctors not only with the best diagnostic information possible but the best overall experience. We believe that the personal level of attention you and your doctor will receive at SACT is simply not available anywhere else in the market.

As with all our services, it is not just the technology that makes the difference but the people. Our CT is staffed by an caring and expert team of Radiology Practitioner Assistants (RPAs) and technologists. Our radiologists have collectively read hundreds of thousands of CT exams over the last 20-plus years and are trained in the most advanced CT applications available including CCTA, vascular run-off studies and virtual colonoscopy. SACT also provides "CT-guided" interventional radiology procedures (IRPs) including biopsies.

Our scanner is so fast that we are able to accommodate patients almost immediately, certainly on a same-day basis if appropriate and desired by the patient and their doctor. Below please find a CT Order Form. The first step in coming to SACT is for a patient's doctor to fax the attached form to our office: we'll take it from there.

Please feel free to call us at 603-898-3129 with any questions. CT Order Form

The Basics   A computerized axial tomography (CAT or CT) Scan combines the use of x-rays and highly sophisticated computer software (programs) to produce thousands of cross-sectional images of the body called "slices". Today's state-of-the-art CT Scanners such as the one at Salem Advanced CT Imaging are capable of doing so in an exam lasting just a few seconds. Powerful computers attached to the scanner allow CT technologists (the clinical staff responsible for performing the exam) to re-assemble these slices into a variety of 2-D and 3-D pictures called "views" which our radiologists use to diagnose your medical condition. The radiologists' written interpretation of your exam, called the "report", and in many cases the images themselves, are shared with your doctor who uses the information as a critical tool in planning or monitoring your course of treatment.

Patient Preparation   Included below are some basic preparation instructions for CT exams but you should feel free to speak with your doctor or our staff to make sure you understand how to prepare for your exam:

Abdomen and Pelvis

• Please do not eat for 3 hours prior to appointment.
• You may drink fluids (water, juice, coffee, etc...).
• You may take all medications. Please arrive 1 hour prior to your scheduled exam time.
• You will be given 24 to 36 ounces of oral contrast to drink. Your scan will be done approximately 45 to 60 minutes after you finish drinking to allow for complete filling of your intestines and optimal visualization of your scan.

Exams with Intravenous Contrast

• Please do not eat for 3 hours prior to appointment.
• You may drink fluids (water, juice, coffee, etc...).
• You may take all medications.
• Please arrive just prior to scheduled appointment time.

• No preparation is required.
• Please arrive just prior to scheduled appointment time.

What Can I Expect?

Arrival   When you arrive at the offices of Salem Advanced CT Imaging, you may check in with one of our receptionists who will ask for some basic information (for example, your insurance card and copies of any previous studies). The receptionist will inform the CT staff that you have arrived. Following check-in, you (and any friends or family members) will be escorted to a private, well-appointed reception area where you will be met by one of our CT Specialists (a technologist). The technologist, in addition to being the person who actually performs the exam, is responsible for guiding you and ensuring your comfort throughout the entire process. The technologist will explain the exam which is going to be performed, and answer any questions and address any concerns you may have.

Exam Preparations   The technologist will also assist you in getting ready for the exam itself. The specific preparations required vary depending on the type of exam being performed. Many patients receiving a CT of the abdomen or pelvis, for example, will be required to consume a milkshake-like (or in some cases a lemonade-like) oral contrast approximately 60 minutes prior to having the exam performed. The contrast helps ensure the highest image quality for these types of exams. Most exams, however, will involve only a brief discussion with the technologist prior to the exam.

As always, please bring copies of any prior exams or related studies from other locations (images and reports) as these play a critical role in the overall success of your exam. And, please remember to bring a copy of your insurance card with you.

More on Contrast   Approximately 60% of CT exams do require the use of contrast in order to ensure the maximum resolution and accuracy of the CT images. While some exams require the use of an oral contrast - as described above - others require intravenous (IV) contrast. IV contrast will be administered once the patient is positioned on the exam table (see more below). For those exams requiring intravenous contrast, patients will experience a "pin-prick" similar to what one experiences when having blood drawn. Other than this, patients should expect their exams to be painless, fast and comfortable.

Blood Tests   Some patients receiving IV contrast will also require a simple blood test (performed in real time at SACT) to ensure their kidneys are working well since the kidneys eliminate the contrast from the body. SACT uses the highest quality contrast available which further minimizes the chance of any undesired reaction to the contrast.

The Exam   Once you have completed any last minute preparations, the technologist will escort you into the CT Scan room located right next to the reception area. The technologist will assist you in getting comfortable on the exam table and make sure that your body is correctly positioned for the exam. For those patients requiring it, an IV contrast injection will be administered at this time. For the exam itself, which in most cases lasts just a few minutes, the technologist will exit the room into the Scanner Control room which is located right on the other side of a large glass window. The technologist will inform you through a speaker when the exam is about to begin -- you may be asked to hold your breath briefly during a portion of the exam. At no time will the Scanner itself touch you during the exam.

Once the exam is complete, the technologist will escort you back to the private reception area and provide you with any necessary instructions prior to your departure. Most patients will simply be able to gather their belongings and leave immediately following the exam. The technologists will recommend to those patients receiving contrast that they consume plenty of water and other non-caffeinated liquids to help flush the contrast from their body.

An Important Note About Comfort:   Patients with concerns about experiencing claustrophobia while inside the machine should understand two things about a CT Scan. First, the time spent in the machine is extremely short (anywhere from just a few seconds to a few minutes). Second, unlike an MRI machine which can seem very deep and enclosed to some patients, a CT Scanner's "hole" is very wide. One should not experience any sensation of being closed in as is sometimes the case for patients undergoing an MRI.

Length of Exam   Our 64-Slice scanner is so fast that most scans are completed in a matter of just a few seconds. Given the time it takes most patients to get changed and situated on the CT table, most non-contrast exams are completed in 10 minutes or so. Abdomen and pelvic exams with contrast take a little longer in total (30 minutes) because patients are required to sit and rest between the "without contrast" and the "with contrast" portions of the exam. Of course, exam times may take a bit longer for those patients requiring more assistance getting situated on the exam table.

Obtaining the Results   Patients should consult with their doctor to obtain the results of their exam.

Urgent and Complex Cases   When doctors require the results quickly due to the nature of the case, our clinical team will provide the doctor with a "preliminary read" (sometimes called a "STAT" or "WET" read) either on a hand-written fax or via a telephone call to the doctor's office. It is also common on these cases and in particular, on complex cases, for our radiologists to consult with the patient's doctor directly. This direct line of communication provides the referring doctor with prompt and actionable diagnostic information which they in turn can use in recommending an immediate course of treatment. After the preliminary findings are reported to the patient's doctor, these cases follow the standard process described below for non-urgent cases, with a final report going to the physician's office within approximately 24 hours.

Non-Urgent Cases   For those exams which are not urgent in nature, transcribed reports are typically available within 24 hours. Our radiologists review the images taken during an exam, consult prior images or other related clinical information, and dictate a report of their findings. Our onsite transcriptionists then type the reports which are faxed and / or mailed to the doctor's office based on that doctor's particular preferences.

Your doctor also has the ability to access your images and reports online via the Internet. Doctors may also obtain copies of their patient's images on a disk or on high quality color glossies.