"Neuro Engine” Technology Performs Rapid Volume-Perfusion Acquisition for Stroke Diagnosis

New technology brings stroke diagnosis to the patient with a combination of computed tomography (CT) scanner technology and a "Neuro Engine,” providing a unique and complete solution for all aspects of neuroradiology.

For a stroke victim, the first few hours are the defining time when a fast and effective diagnosis can mean the difference between full recovery and permanent disability. At the 47th annual meeting of the American Society of Neuroradiology, held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, May 16-21, 2009, Siemens Healthcare (Erlangen, Germany) presented its new technology.

The crucial time for any patient is during the first three hours after the stroke occurred. Data gathered from the CT scan can efficiently provide the essential data for a proper diagnosis and next steps for the patient's well being.

"Siemens is proud to offer volume perfusion capabilities on a wide variety of our scanners,” said Kulin Hemani, vice president, computed tomography, Siemens Healthcare. "Adaptive 4D [four-dimensional] Spiral, the innovative acquisition, which allows volume perfusion coverage of up to 15 cm on Somatom Definition Flash, is currently available, not only on our premium scanners, but across the entire spectrum of our Somatom Definition CT portfolio, bringing the technology to every patient. Moreover, the 15-cm coverage is offered in the entire field-of-view, unlike other perfusion techniques offered on large-area detectors where large cone-beam angle impacts the volume that can be visualized.”

Whether a fast stroke evaluation or the display of the infarcted and surrounding area is needed, the CT Neuro Engine makes all the data available in only seconds. With syngo Expert-I, findings can be shared with the treating physician or a colleague by simply granting them remote access from any personal computer (PC) in the network. Moreover, to speed up clinical workflow, 3D evaluations can be performed by simply using syngo WebSpace from any PC or laptop where the Internet can be accessed.

Siemens 3D stroke imaging provides the highest clinical confidence using Somatom exquisite image quality. Fully automated 3D syngo Volume Neuro Perfusion CT tools facilitate quantitative volume evaluation for differential diagnosis of ischemic stroke and supports simultaneous multislice processing, as well as the stringent time and workflow requirements in an emergency setting where time is of the essence. The automated guided workflow provides quick and reliable assessment of dynamic cerebral perfusion parameters, such as cerebral blood flow (CBF), cerebral blood volume (CBV), and time to peak (TTP), and mean transit time (MTT).

The CT Neuro Engine is designed to answer the critical questions that stroke team faces in diagnosis of ischemic stroke, such as excluding existence of hemorrhage, understanding of irreversibility of infarcted tissue, and determining portion of potentially salvageable tissue.

Siemens Adaptive 4D Spiral technology allows the possibility to adapt the coverage to virtually any organ size, allowing for full brain perfusion information, enabling a comprehensive view whole disease in stroke imaging. Adaptive 4D Spiral capabilities are currently available to more than 300 CT scanners installed throughout the United States. It is available on Somatom Definition Flash, Definition, and Definition AS scanners, including the newly introduced, cost-effective 20-slice configuration. With Adaptive 4D Spiral, the Siemens CT scanners are able to address functional imaging (perfusion images of blood flow over time) specific to the organ being imaged. This allows additional information beyond simple perfusion and into phase contrast CT. In the case of a stroke, physicians can use whole-organ perfusion imaging, not only for a small part of the brain, but for all of it.

"Time is brain” is a time until treatment affects the level of damage caused by the stroke. Meaning, the faster a stroke is treated, the better the odds that the patient could have a complete recovery, or, at the most, a mild disability. With this CT stroke imaging technology, the stroke team can have the confidence in the imaging excellence and the speed of the data to make the best decision for the patient.

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