Patent ID: 7254438

Claim:
A medical imaging apparatus, comprising: a CT imaging device for obtaining one or more tomographic images of a subject patient, the CT imaging device having a first housing which defines a bore through which the patient axially translates during formation of one or more images by the device; a nuclear camera imaging device for obtaining one or more tomographic images of the subject patient, nuclear camera imaging device having a second housing which defines a bore through which a patient axially translates during formation of the images by the device, which first and second housings are selectably securable in a fixed abutting position to one another during the formation of one or more images of the subject patient, in which fixed position the bore of each device is substantially aligned axially with the bore of the other; and when the first and second housings are secured in a fixed abutting position to one another, the bores of the CT and nuclear camera imaging devices are spaced apart by a distance sufficient to allow direct access by a caregiver to a portion of the subject patient which is positioned between the first and second bores, the spacing between the bores is free of obstructions in a region above the subject patient.