Weight-Bearing CT International Study Group Hosts Scientific Session at EFAS Conference

GENEVA, September, 24 —The Weight-Bearing CT International Study Group will host a scientific session on the benefits of weight-bearing extremity CT exams on October 5 between 12:30 and 2:00 pm in the Roma Meeting Room at the Starling Geneva Hotel and Conference Centre. This session is being held in conjunction with the 12th annual European Foot and Ankle Society (EFAS) conference taking place from 4—6 October in Geneva. It is jointly sponsored by Carestream, CurveBeam and Planmed. Attendees can register for the scientific session at www.wbctstudygroup.com.

The Study Group promotes dialogue and collaboration on weight-bearing CT (WBCT) research initiatives. Foot and ankle specialists from seven healthcare institutions representing the United States, Germany, Belgium and Finland will speak at the session. Group members are working to create standardised protocols for measurements and analysis.

“With weight-bearing CT, the orthopaedic surgeon can feel much more confident with the quality of bone healing in the patients. And, generally speaking, WBCT allows the surgeon to have a much better idea of what to expect during the surgery itself,” according to an article entitled “Weight-bearing CT scans: A new era for foot and ankle surgery.”

High-quality, weight-bearing imaging studies have the potential to dramatically improve diagnosis and treatment of a wide range of injuries and conditions of the foot, ankle and other extremities. Cone beam CT systems offer a non-invasive way to evaluate a host of orthopaedic conditions such as arthritis, meniscus loss and instability that affect the bio-mechanical behaviour of feet, ankles and other joints.

“Carestream’s OnSight 3D Extremity System is one of the most exciting innovations in extremity imaging in the last 20 years,” says Dr. Lew Schon, an orthopaedic surgeon who is fellowship trained in foot and ankle reconstruction. “This system displays fine detail in the morphology of bone density and alignment, while providing visualisation of soft tissue such as ligaments and tendons. And since the CT scan is weight bearing, it provides additional details that aid in diagnosis and treatment decisions.”

Dr. Schon notes that being able to capture images and conduct a patient consultation in an initial office visit is an important advance in patient care. “Patients want to know how badly they are injured, what the treatment plan is and how soon they can return to work. This extremity imaging system provides orthopaedic specialists with the data needed to answer these important questions, which helps patients feel comfortable with their treatment and recovery plan.”