The use of the C.A.T. head scanner in clinical psychiatry

Three hundred and twenty-three patients were referred by psychiatrists for scanning with a 160 X 160 matrix CT 1010 Head Scanner at the Maudsley Hospital during the first year this machine was in use (1977/1978). Two hundred and one referrals were for clinical and 122 for research reasons, 50% of the former and 57% of the latter showed some abnormality on their scans. Review of the patients' notes identified data that were significantly predictive of abnormal scan results; and the referring psychiatrists were significantly more able to predict the scan results correctly during the second six months of the study. Diagnosis, management, and/or prognosis were influenced in 11.7% of those patients scanned for clinical reasons.