Smart software tackles MDCT reconstruction bottleneck

GE Medical Systems has released a new software platform designed to ease workflow bottlenecks in the CT suite. The Xtream technology application will be installed on the operator console of GE's multidetector scanners, offering a one-touch protocol for image reconstruction.

"It's not only about speed. It's also about simplifying the work of the doctor," said Jean Michel Malbrancq, general manager for GE's CT marketing and sales in Europe. "With a single-touch protocol, everything is faster, and this leaves more time for the doctors to be with their patients."

A key feature of the Xtream platform is its capacity to begin multiplanar reformatting while the scan is still in progress. One click on the console during axial scanning starts reconstruction of sagittal and coronal views at six frames per second. GE hopes to increase this speed to 15 frames per second by the end of this year, according to Camille Farhat, general manager for global CT product development and marketing.

"If you think about a series of images, say a cardiac exam of 1500 to 3000 images, with a reconstruction time of 15 frames per second, you're flying through them," Farhat said. "That's the beauty of this."

GE plans to start shipping the Xtream platform on its LightSpeed MDCT scanners later this month. Existing LightSpeed customers will have the option to upgrade their scanner performance later this year.

The Xtream platform will allow both radiologists and technologists to take advantage of the benefits MDCT can offer without being overwhelmed by the added amount of image data, Farhat said.

"We can talk about the next multidetector system and how many more slices it's going to deliver, but if you don't have the infrastructure and the platform to deal with the reading tools, with the patient workflow, then you're just incrementally adding more work for the radiologist," he said.