hey pablo - thought you said OR, not ER, but i mean yes there are but very site dependent to my knowledge... i feel most confortable citing the literature as an example... i mean in the ER a priority use is that one wants to make sure we aren't looking at hemorrhagic (but rather ischemic) stroke prior applying the 'clot buster', whether it's assessed via portable or fixed CT.
i'm not sure if the below study used a cone-beam portable CT or not, my guess is not... some feel that cone-beam CTs aren't feasible quite yet for brain imaging... i feel that is only a temporary technologic issue though.
Radiol Manage. 2009 Mar-Apr;31(2):41-5.
Portable CT imaging of acute stroke patients in the emergency department.
Weinreb DB, Stahl JE.
Department of Radiology, Hospital of Saint Raphael, New Haven, CT, USA.
A study was performed to determine whether the use of a portable CT scanner dedicated for ED patients would reduce the time elapsed from the physician's request for CT imaging until the start time of the study. The portable scanner allowsfor more rapid assessment of stroke patients and does not require additional facilities or personnel. In addition, when not in use in the ED, the scanner couldbe transported elsewhere in the hospital, for example the ICU, and be available for alternative clinical applications. For most hospitals, it is not neccessary to invest in an additional CT scanner dedicated for stroke imaging in the ED unless demand for the scanner exceeds 60 patients per day or, alternatively, the prevalence of stroke in the community served by the hospital is approximately 4-5 times the national average.
PMID: 19634797 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
