COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY
BY BRIAN CASEY
Commercial success may be limited by high price
as new systems top out at $1.3 million
Multislice CT scanners improve performance
New developments in CT technology will be among the hottest topics at the RSNA meeting this year. Leading the way are new product introductions that employ multislice scanning, which enables clinicians to acquire higher quality images in less time than they can with single-slice spiral scanners.
New spiral scanners were introduced in the summer and fall by Toshiba, GE, and Siemens; Elscint already offers a dual-slice scanner. Although the companies have approached multislice technology differently, the systems are similar in that they collect multiple slices of data with each rotation of the patient. Coupled with subsecond rotation speeds, the new scanners can produce as many as eight images per second and conduct complete scans in a single breath-hold.
Multislice scanning could add momentum to a CT market that is already enjoying healthy growth, thanks to strong replacement sales. The commercial success of the new systems could be limited by their high price, however, as multislice scanners are expected to cost about $1.25 million.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR
Elscint. If Picker's acquisition of Elscint is completed before the RSNA meeting begins, attendees may see Elscint's CT technology in Picker's booth. That technology will include the dual-slice CT-Twin scanner, which predated this year's multislice scanner introductions by six years. In addition to multislice scanning, Elscint will highlight the company's CT coronary artery calcification scoring package for identifying patients at risk of heart disease.
GE. LightSpeed QX/i is GE's contribution to the multislice scanner race. The system, introduced in September, features a detector array divided into 16 rows that scan as many as four adjacent slices. Coupled with rotation times as fast as 0.8 second, LightSpeed can produce up to 7.5 images per second, according to the company. GE appears to have an edge on its competitors in commercializing multislice technology: The vendor began shipments of LightSpeed in September, at the same time that it announced the product.
In single-slice technology, GE will show its new HiSpeed line of scanners, launched in May. The systems represent the migration of high-end technologies, such as solid-state detectors, to all price points in the company's line.
On the software side, GE will display advances in coronary artery calcification screening using a software package that received 510(k) clearance last summer.
Imatron. This company will show its new high-resolution detectors, which improve the spatial resolution of its electron-beam CT scanners. Imatron has increased the number of active detector channels from 1296 to 3456, which should result in better high-resolution CT angiography images. The upgrade will improve general-purpose imaging on Imatron's scanners, which up to now have mostly been targeted at cardiac applications.
Picker. The acquisition of Elscint's CT business will result in a massive infusion of technology into Picker's CT operations. The deal brings Picker a mature CT product line and an extensive international distribution network, as well as technologies like the dual-slice scanning available on the CT-Twin system. Picker will also gain access to SeleCT/SP, an entry-level spiral scanner popular in developing countries.
Picker's own products will include its Venue concept, in which x-ray technologies like radiography-fluoroscopy and angiography systems are integrated with CT scanners into a complete interventional suite. The company will probably show a CT coronary artery calcification package as a work-in-progress.
Shimadzu. SCT 7000TS is targeted at the mid-tier market and is Shimadzu's first solid-state detector CT scanner. The conversion from xenon to solid-state detectors assures improved spatial and contrast resolution, according to the company. Shimadzu secured Food and Drug Administration clearance for SCT 7000TS this fall after beginning shipments to Japanese and Australian customers.
SCT 6800TXL is also new. Its claim to fame is a 50-cm maximum field-of-view, which is handy for imaging jumbo patients.
Siemens. Siemens has countered the multislice scanner introductions of its competitors with a new multislice version of its premium Somatom Plus 4 scanner. The new version, Somatom Plus 4 Volume Zoom, includes a half-second rotation speed and a new detector configuration, called Adaptive Array Detector, that enables users to choose variable slice thicknesses as small as 0.5 mm. Siemens introduced the multislice package in October and expected 510(k) clearance in time for the RSNA meeting.
Volume Zoom will be offered as a new scanner, but Siemens takes a unique approach to upgrading Plus 4 systems in the field: Plus 4 users who wish to upgrade to Volume Zoom will receive completely new scanners, at least in the early phases of Volume Zoom's rollout.
Toshiba. Aquilion is Toshiba's new CT scanner that features a half-second rotation time and will serve as the platform for the company's multislice scanning package, to be shown at the RSNA meeting as a work-in-progress. Like the Siemens scanner, the multislice version of Aquilion will be able to collect eight images a second and can acquire slices as thin as 0.5 mm.
Toshiba received 510(k) clearance for Aquilion in August as a single-slice scanner. The multislice upgrade will be offered as an upgrade to the system.
