Philips to unveil 10-slice CT scanner on RSNA exhibit floor

Quantity shipments expected to begin in 3Q 2003

Philips will introduce a 10-slice CT scanner at the RSNA meeting. The new product, built on the Mx8000 IDT platform, is being groomed for customers who want a premium multislice scanner but lack the budget for a 16-slice model.

"We are seeing a clear migration to the premium tier in the U.S., and that tier is widening," said Jim Green, senior vice president and general manager, Philips CT.

Primary sales targets will be the larger community hospitals, he said, but Philips is already getting some interest from imaging centers.

"Entrepreneurial groups see opportunities that the 10-slice scanner will give them in terms of more capability, and they recognize that it will help differentiate them in their markets," Green said.

The first of this 10-slice product has been installed at the Geauga Regional Hospital in Chardon, OH. It will begin shipping in quantity during the second quarter of next year, according to Jim Fulton, Philips vice president of global CT marketing. The new product will sell for about 25% less than Philips' million-dollar-plus flagship scanner, he said. The 10-slice version will be field-upgradable to the superpremium 16-slice configuration.

"The update will have the hardware and software to get users to the uppermost level of performance without the need for a forklift," Fulton said.

The new product has much of the same technology as the 16-slice version. It shares, for example, the same advanced detector, albeit configured for fewer slices; DoseWise dose-reduction technologies; and the Tach data acquisition system, which is based on application-specific integrated circuits. The Philips Mx8000 IDT 10 is capable of 0.42-second rotation time and submillimeter isotropic imaging, just like its big brother. It can also be used in both radiologic and cardiac applications. Its clinical range, however, is not as wide as the 16-slice scanner, nor is its computing speed as fast, an effect most apparent in image reconstruction.

Philips is the second vendor to announce its intent to produce a 10-slice scanner. Siemens unveiled its Sensation 10 in October (SCAN 10/9/02). Siemens, like Philips, will feature its own version at the RSNA meeting in December.