Philips provides Ingenuity CT 64 scanner to RFA Argus

Philips has announced that the Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship the RFA Argus has taken delivery of one of its Ingenuity CT 64 scanners.

It is thought to be the world's first 64-slice computed tomography (CT) scanner in a mobile vessel, with the device being installed as part of a complex refit process that involved cutting a path through the walls of the ship.

Philips' Ingenuity CT 64 device provides low-dose, high-quality imaging with an intuitive and easy-to-operate workspace environment, plus various other beneficial features.

Following the completion of this refit, the ship will return to the seas later this year, where it will continue to serve as a primary casualty receiving facility, thanks to its fully-equipped 100-bed onboard hospital, four-bay operating theatre, ten-bed critical care unit and a 20-bed high dependency unit.

Its crew recently underwent training to enhance its its humanitarian and disaster relief organisation capabilities, with the installation of the new CT scanner to aid this work.

This comes after Philips introduced its eICU (Intensive Care Unit) Programme to the UK for the first time last month, with the first British installation taking place at London's Guy's and St Thomas' Hospitals.