King Edward VII Memorial Hospital yesterday unveiled its new diagnostic scanner.The $1.48 million GE Discovery 128-slice CT machine provides faster scan times and a reduction in radiation doses of up to 50 percent.The scanner is twice as powerful as the 64-slice machine at Brown Darrell clinic, making it the most powerful on the Island.The machine was donated to Bermuda Hospitals Board by Hospitals Auxiliary of Bermuda.CT scanning is a form of diagnostic imaging using X-rays at many different angles to get a picture of body tissue. BHB’s new state-of-the-art technology gives physicians the ability to see more anatomical detail in only a fraction of the time it took previously.Chief of radiology Daniel Stovell said the new machine is a vast improvement on the 8-slice machine it replaced at KEMH.“It also offers virtual colonoscopy, a procedure that displays images of the large intestine on a screen, permitting physicians to assess and diagnosis digestive conditions using a less invasive procedure than surgery.”The lower radiation dosage reduces the possibility of healthy tissue being damaged. The most important aspect of the new machine is that it gives a clearer picture of what is happening in the body.According to Dr Stovell, it enables doctors to diagnose problems faster and more accurately. Blockages in blood vessels, for example, are clearly visible, allowing doctors and patients to know the precise location of the problem.