All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Patna will start computer tomography (CT) scan at the hospital from January.

The facility would be available at much less than what it costs at other government-run and private facilities in Patna.

While at Patna Medical College and Hospital one has to shell out something between Rs 900 and Rs 3,400 (depending on the body part for which the test has to be done) for getting the test done, one pays Rs 1,150 to Rs 4,100 for getting the same test done at Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (IGIMS).

At private facilities, the same test is available at something between Rs 2,000 and Rs 8,000. However, at AIIMS-Patna, one would have to pay only Rs 200 to Rs 500 to get the test done.

Prem Kumar, the head of radiology department at the hospital, said: "The CT scan machine, which is being installed at AIIMS-Patna, is of the latest version (CT 256 slice). It costs around Rs 10 crore. The advantage of the version is that it can take 256 images in one rotation while the older versions could take only 16-64 images."

The latest version of the CT scan machine allows diagnosis of several conditions, which one can't on the older version of the CT scan machine.

"We can locate and conduct biopsy of blockages, stones or tumours. Whether the stone is made up of calcium or magnesium can also be diagnosed with the latest version of the machine. This helps doctors during operations," added Prem.

At PMCH, the CT scan machine is run on a public-private partnership, while IGIMS runs its own machine.

AIIMS would also start digital radiography (X-ray), digital subtraction angiography and mammography tests in January 2016. While the digital radiography machine is worth Rs 1 crore, the price of digital subtraction angiography and mammography machine is Rs 7 crore and Rs 1.3 crore, respectively.

Prem said: "The speciality of the digital radiography machine is that it can conduct X-rays at a much faster speed than the normal X-ray machine. A patient is exposed to the digital radiography machine for a limited time, while in the case of normal X-ray machines, patients are exposed for a longer duration. The best part of digital radiography test is that it's a computer-aided test. The X-ray image is displayed directly on the computer screen without the need of developing chemicals. Through this machine, we can do the intravenous pyelogram test, which helps detect the kidney and the urinary bladder's function. At AIIMS, one would have to shell out Rs 30 to get the X-ray test done, while the same test is available at Rs 200-Rs 250 in private facilities."

Digital subtraction angiography machine will help in diagnosing and treating neurological problems, strokes and problems like bleeding in lungs among others.

Even IGIMS would start new tests. The hospital is going to install magnetic resonance imaging and heart lung machine by February next year. Its medical superintendent Prabhat Kumar said: "At present, none of the state-run hospitals have MRI machines. The tenders process is almost complete. Both the machines would be installed and functional by February next year."