Special CT scanners called spiral (helical) CT scanners and multislice CT scanners can quickly provide a continuous scan of large areas in half the time of a standard CT scan. They often are used to diagnose Kidney Stones, a clot in the blood vessels leading to the lungs (pulmonary embolism), or calcium buildup in the lining of the arteries (atherosclerosis). The advantages of these special CT scanners over standard CT scanning include:
A shorter test time. This may allow a person to hold his or her breath for the entire length of a scan.
