What promises to be the ultimate X-ray machine, one ;
that could find tiny cancers or heart defects long before j
they cause trouble, is now being built at the giant Mayo
Clinic in Rochester, Minn.
This advanced X-ray scanner that for the first time
can show human organs, heartbeats, and blood flow
three-dimensional motion, is a $5 million, seventeen
ton, doughnut-like device that will whirl 28 X-ray
machines around a patient to make thousands of images
a second. The images will be fed to a computer to
reconstruct any part of the body. In a period of a few
seconds, with no more X-ray exposure than a few chest
X-rays, the machine will electronically slice open any
part of the body or any organ in any direction, transfer
a series of images to magnetic tape and display them on
a TV-iike screen for immediate or leisurely examination.
The picture will show the organ in three dimensions
almost as if a surgeon had removed it. The machine can
also display the organ's interior, as if the surgeon had
then cut it open.. ,
Such organs as the heart, blood vessels and lungs will
Happiness Through Health
b " New X-Ray Machine Lets Doctor See
Heart Beating, Blood Flowing
ByOttoMcClarnn
' be seen at work, with blood and oxygen flowing through
them. : t
The scanner, the brainchild of Mayo Clinic scientists
and engineers, has been in the works for more than
three years and was first thought of nearly twenty years
X-ray equipped
carry out such
ago.
The scanner, with a seventeen-ton
revolving gantry, will help doctors
studies as these:
Detecting coronary artery disease, including narrow
ing or clogging of arteries;
Diagnosing complex congenital heart defects;
Furnishing accurate information on the extent of heart
muscle damage after a heart attack;
Pinpointing potentially fatal aneurysma, balloon-iikc
weaknesses in vessels that can kill if they rupture, but
which can be surgically repaired in most cases if
detected in time;
Locating tumors, especially hard-to-find growths that
affect vascular anatomy or blood flow within an organ;
Isolating and identifying lung cancer tumors one-fifth
inch in size more reliably than can be done now, thereby
improving chances of successful radiation or sv ?icit
treatment.
Animal and human trials of the $5 million i vice,
known as a dynamic spatial reconstructor, will be car-
-A v :
ried out for the next three years, according to cia?cv:
researchers. ,
No date has been set for routine clinical use of the
scanner, but Dr. Erik Rinnan, a physiologist and chair
man of Mayo's biodyaamics research unit, said people
with certain types of heart problems, such as calcifica
tion or artificial valve implants, might be scanned ex--perimentaHy
by the end of the year. -v
The scanner's gantry is designed to hold up to 23 '.
X-ray "guns" and the same number of television image
intensifiers, along with TV cameras to capture the
multiple view X-ray pictures in a hundredth of a second.
The images shown by the scanner are life-size and
three-dimensional, such as a doctor would see ;: he
opened a patient and held an organ in his nar.o. T,?c
device allows medical investigators to examine single
organs like the heart in detail and at their own pace.
The director of the project, which was funded mainly .
bv tbe National Tinite of Health, is Dr. Earl Wood,
n . j .s'o-Mgist. Other key members oi the team tit
uddt Or. Riunan and Richard kobb, a computer scientist.
VISTA
VISTA volunteers Rex
and Neva Erickson have
helped them receive pro
perty tax refunds that they
did not previously know
were available.
"We came down from
Michigan and are entering
our ninth month as
VIST As with the Watersh
ed," says Rex, explaining
that the Watershed Agen
cy is a community
outreach service founded
by Rev. Hezekiah David
Stewart and his wife, Rv.
Marsha Stewart, ministers
at the Mount Nebo
African Methodist
(Continued from Page 9)
Episcopal Church in Col-:
lege Station. Rev. Marsha
Stewart is director of the '
Watershed, which serves'
community needs ill '
multifarious ways.
Since their arrival, the
Ericksons have established;
a monthly community
newsletter, The Paper
Works, which reaches1
every household in town. ,
They set up a general:
education diploma (GED)'
course that thus far has
enabled 29 people to pass
state high school
equivalency exams, and
they have established a
irrr --"'itl'V mini
Kow to
cat tha most
from your bcn!t
Fred Tat
By Fred Tate
Beginning December 31, a new service will be
offered at many banks and savings and loans:
checking accounts which earn interest. This new
service is called INUW ( Nego
tiable Order of Withdrawal) ac
counts and is almost identical to
the automatic transfer accounts
which some banks have been
offering since late 1978.
Both types of services offer the
highest interest rate allowed by
the federal government for this
type , of account. Similar services
are available at some credit
unions and brokerage firms.
With NOW and automatic transfer accounts, a
minimum daily balance is often required to avoid i
service charges. Individual banks determine that
minimum. Customers can also avoid service charges
at some banks by maintaining an average monthly
balance above a certain level.
Those who do not maintain the minimum balance
may still be able to earn interest above the cost of
the service charges. The break-even point depends
upon the average balance and the number of checks
paid during the month. ' .
Banks will continue to offer regular checking
accounts. In non-interest paying checking accounts,
there is usually a smaller minimum balance require
ment to avoid service charges. Some people may
prefer this kind of checking account
Also, regular passbook and statement savings
accounts will still be offered for people who want to
keep their savings funds separate from their'
checking.
With NOW accounts and automatic transfer
accounts, you never have any funds lying idle. And
in these days of inflation, idle funds don't make
much sense. These two accounts make it possible
for you to say, "All of the money I have in my bank
is earning interest." '
Fred Tate is vice president and city executive for Wacho
, via Bank and Trust Company in EUzabethtown. Ht hot
been with the bank since 1963.
library. "So far, eighty
children have taken out
cards," says grant-writer
Neva, noting that a $1,000"
Winthrop Rockefeller
Foundation grant will pro
vide the library a part-time
employee.
Over the holidays, the
: Erickson team will, accor
ding to Rex, "be helping
elderly citizens who call us
with problems, such as no
money to pay utility bills.
We also do some hauling
for seniors," he con
tinues, "and help the
Watershed run a large
thrift shop that sells
clothing land appliances,
. charging ten cents for
children's things and 25C
for adult apparel."
In every case, VISTA
and Older American
volunteers will brighten
the holidays of thousands
of Americans. But it is not
only once yearly that their
service makes a dif
' ference; the spirit and ac
, complishment of
volunteers serving in AC
'TION programs extend
throughout the nation
year-round.
Senior Companion and
Foster Grandparent
; volunteers must be at leasi
.'sixty years old. The pro
grams are designed fo
' low-income persons but
annual income guidelines
vary from state to state.
Volunteers receive , a
modest, tax-free stipend -
to cover the cost of
volunteering, a transpor
tation allowance, a hot
meal where possible, in
surance while serving, and
an annua physical exam.
Anyone retired and age
sixty or over can be a
RSVP. volunteer. Retired
Senior volunteers serve
without " compensation,
but may be reimbursed for
expenses such as transpor
tation. Insurance protec
tion is provided volunteers
while on assignment. ,
A VISTA volunteer
must be a resident of the
U.S. or one of its ter
ritories and in good
health. A physical disabili
ty does not disqualify one
from VISTA service. For
more information about
VISTA programs, contact
1-800-424-8580, ext. 93,
toll free.
Persons wishing further .
information on Foster
Grandparent, Senior 1
Companion, or RSVP
volunteer programs may
write: Older American
Volunteer Programs, AC- j
TION, Washington, D.C.
'20525. Include a phone
; DAMAUVc
ByDonMcEvoy .
MISPLACING
OUR PRIORITIES
Rece,
Ma
ecent news rrpoitJ 'eH v tbaf r,"
lanhattan Bank president -
Rpckefelkr has been warmly received by
South American business and political lead
ers as he has traveled around the hemi
sphere assuring them that things are going
to be better for them under the new admin
istration of President Reagan.
That's fine. Let's all hope that, trade bal
ances are made more equitable, that com
mercial relationships are strengthened and
that inflation is brought under control. The
monetary stability of the world is of great
importance to us all.
But the basis on which Rockefeller made
his encouraging forecast is chilling. What
apparently most heartened his Latin Ameri
can hearers was the promise that the incom- -ing
administration could be counted on to
reverse the current U.S. policy of linking
political and financial concessions to domes
tic human rights policies and practices in
the countries with which we do business.
That seems to have been what really turned
them on.
If these reports are true, then every Amer
ican citizen, liberal and conservative, should
The beleaguered masses of South Amcni
depend on that American lifeiin, r-c. ".
imply cannot permit the ceitrahtv of r -man
rights concerns t." be coT;prrmied. T
do so would be to default o-i our own in
tegrity as a people.
(Don McEtrv u Senior Vice fresuien? n the
;?M5r lust be the keystone of thi Katianal Conference of Chn-tuirs and J4S
ii y poiscy, whether foreign or . The opinions expr&fed u '-.; mm.)
number where you can be ' , . . m ...
X vawuvu
aomestic.
America is a great nation. But its great
ness lies not in its economic prowess, its
nuclear arsenal or any other material cate
gory which could be mentioned. The trw
greatness of this nation is in its moral com
mitments. For tlie more than two ccnnirics
of o-ir national existence, the pre-eminent-gift
of Amtri'.a to the w!d has been e
dream oi freedom and a concept of human
dignity. We haven't always lived up to that
promise, not by any means, but that is what
we have stood for. That is what the other
nations of the world have looked to.
My visit to the Soviet Union this past
summer and extensive meetings there with
dissidents in that oppressive society re
confirmed my belief that the human rights
emphasis of the past years is America's pri
mary contribution to the family of nations.
To a person, the dissidents expressed their
appreciation of the concern expressed by the
American people and the American Gov
ernment. Their most fervent plea was that
we keep the pressure on their leaders in
This remarkable
tablet gives
aspirin relief,
yet protects
against stomach
upset
DUENTR1C" COATED ASPlAlN!
'"srlfxiifis j
I
First Capital's
It's a retirement account
that's tax deductible.
It's also a savings account
that earns you
I ff WMll
LiiLJ MU) interest
and 12.747 annual yield
if you make only one deposit a year.
Km good through Owtmbtt W.
With an Individual Retirement Account at Fine
Capital, you're building financial security for your
future at the same time you're giving yourself a tax
break! Up to $1300 for an individual, and $17)0 for
married couples, can be deducted from your taxes
each year. It's time, now, to start thinking of that
deduction for your 1980-81 taxes. Ask about the
First Capital IRA accounts next time you stop in.
FmST CAPITAL SJWCiGS
AND LOAN AttOCiATKN tTTV
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