Imatron wins clearance for angiographic EBT

Ultrafast CT developer Imatron won a victory this month when it received Food and Drug Administration clearance to use its electron beam tomography (EBT) scanner for angiographic applications. With the clearance, South San Francisco, CA-based Imatron can perform electron beam angiography (EBA) of the coronary arteries, a procedure unique to EBT and feasible because of the unit’s scan speed, according to the company.

For angiography, the company’s EBT scanner functions as a diagnostic x-ray system that produces 2-D and 3-D images of the heart, blood vessels, and lymphatic system from a set of cross-sectional anatomical images. EBT can also display 3-D images of the heart in cine mode in its angiography capacity. Imatron estimates that the scanner could eliminate the need for roughly 20% to 40% of conventional coronary angiogram procedures each year.