KLAS: Docs Perceive Siemens, GE as CT Low-Dose Leaders

While providers are paying special mind in lowering radiation dose through prep work and process improvements, they do have their opinions on which CT vendors are the low dose leaders, according to a new report from KLAS, CT 2011: Focused on Dose.

Kirk Ising, the report’s author, found that 38 percent of providers surveyed see Siemens as the low dose leader, followed closely by GE at 32 percent. Toshiba and Philips trail the top two vendors with 15 percent of the provider votes each.

More broadly, overall perceived performance saw a shake-up from the previous year, with GE and Siemens slipping past Toshiba to take a top spot, Ising reported. GE's LightSpeed 64 unseated Toshiba Aquilion 64's longstanding top rating in the 64-slice CT market. The Siemens Definition FLASH squeaked past the Toshiba Aquilion ONE for a win in the next-generation group, he added.

"Though Toshiba is not first this year, they ranked second by very slim margins. They have been known for service and support and set the bar for the other vendors in that area. Over the last couple of years they have slipped a bit from their high bar in account management and proactive service," said Ising.

Philips and Hitachi are also shaking things up with new product offerings, according to the report. Philips, who has suffered from some problems with the Brilliance line, has introduced the Ingenuity, which is generating buzz, Ising said. Hitachi, who is typically known for its service and support in the MR realm, recently received FDA clearance for the SCENARIA, their first 64-slice CT offering for the U.S. market.

In addition to the vendor rundown, the report includes provider insights into keeping patients safe from radiation exposure. Protocols are the key to dose-reduction best practices, and providers report that they are working with radiologists, physicists, and technologists to rework protocols for procedure type, the report found. Specifying protocols for the height and weight of patients is another step in standardizing the process, Ising added.