FDA Clears New Photon-Counting CT Platform from GE HealthCare

Combining wide detector coverage, enhanced spectral resolution and motion-free imaging, the new photon-counting computed tomography system Photonova™ Spectra has garnered 510(k) clearance from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

GE HealthCare, the manufacturer of the Photonova Spectra system, said the device offers multiple advantages, including:

• enhanced spectral imaging via the novel detector material Deep Silicon;

• simultaneous capture of high-definition spatial data and 8-bin spectral data;

• handling of 50 times more data than conventional CT devices due to the Photonova Spectra’s NVIDIA accelerated computing technology; and

• optimized reconstruction capabilities for facilitating timely and clinically actionable images.

Guiseppe Toia, M.D., who was involved with the development and testing of the Photonova Spectra’s Deep Silicon detector, maintained that the system represents a significant advance.

“During evaluative studies, this system allowed us to extract more clinically actionable information from a single scan to support informed decisions for research and clinical care. Because photon counting CT is a fundamentally different approach to imaging, we find it results in clean spectral signatures, high spatial resolution and accurate CT numbers,” noted Dr. Toia, an assistant professor of radiology, associate section chief of abdominal imaging and intervention, and CT modality chief with the Department of Radiology at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health.