A clinical study of the EMI scanner: implications for provision of neuroradiological services.

The records of the first 571 patients to be examined with an EMI brain scanner were assessed. The patients were divided into diagnostic categories according to their clinical presentation. The intracranial investigations that would have been performed had the scanner not been available were compared with the investigations that were actually performed. As expected, the number of contrast investigations fell, but the reduction surpassed expectation. If the full clinical impact of the scanner is to be realised the patient's illness must be defined in detail and strict attention paid to radiographic detail. By reducing the number of special contrast investigations use of the scanner enables existing contrast facilities to serve a wider population; and use of the brain scanner in district general hospitals would improve the service to patients, especially those with head injuries.