altitude and GE CTs

[Chris Alston <alstonc@odrge.odr.georgetown.edu>]

>Reply-To: Mary Ellen Jafari <westrad@CYBERHIGHWAY.NET>
>
>I heard an anecdote from hospital administrator who told me that his
facility had bought a CT from GE (he did not specify which model) but just
before it was to be installed, he was informed by a GE engineer that the
unit would not work at over 8000 feet of elevation (the facility is at
higher altitude than that).  Has anyone else heard this?  Any thoughts on
how altitude would affect gas ionization chamber detectors?  Any other
possible reasons as to why elevation would make the unit unusable?  And if
this is actually true, why an 8000 foot cutoff?
>
>I thought this anecdote might be of interest to the MEDPHYS subscribers.
>
>M.E. Jafari, M.S., DABR
>Western Radiological Physics, Inc.
>Laramie, WY   westrad@cyberhighway.net
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