128-Slice CT Scanner Designed to Reduce Costs, Lower Radiation Dose

A new 128-slice computed tomography (CT) scanner provides high image quality and low radiation dose for patients.

Siemens Healthcare (Erlangen, Germany) has reported that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have cleared the Somatom Perspective--a 128-slice computed tomography (CT) scanner designed to drive efficiency and reduce costs. The Somatom Perspective is designed especially for community hospitals, critical access hospitals, and outpatient centers, providing the capability to extend the range of available examinations to their communities at reduced radiation dose in a budget-conscious environment. The system is an example of Siemens’ approach to delivering systems that provide maximum value to customers--primary goals of the Healthcare Sector’s recently announced Agenda 2013 global initiative.

Siemens has included SAFIRE (sonogram-affirmed iterative reconstruction)--a method for iterative CT image reconstruction based on raw data--as a standard option on the system. SAFIRE helps users reduce dose by up to 60% compared to previous filtered back projection techniques. With a reconstruction speed of up to 15 images per second, SAFIRE can be used in daily clinical routines.

“In our continued pursuit of customer excellence and innovation leadership, Siemens is proud to offer the Somatom Perspective CT system, which provides a high level of patient care at an outstanding total cost of ownership for all customers,” said Kulin Hemani, US vice president of CT, Siemens Healthcare. ”Siemens designed the Somatom Perspective with customers’ critical needs in mind, offering user-friendly features that expand the clinical portfolio, improve uptime, and help enable efficient utilization as well as significant patient dose savings. These benefits are especially critical for community hospitals, critical access hospitals, and outpatient centers.”

Exclusive to the Somatom Perspective is its eMode feature, which was created to determine and automatically select system scan parameters so that the CT operates with as low a load as possible, with the aim to minimize wear and increase the scanner’s life cycle. More efficient utilization of the CT system partnered with Siemens’ remote diagnostics and repair means less customer downtime, which may potentially translate to higher availability and potentially better patient care.

Facilitating its use in daily routines and minimizing exam times, the CT system includes fully assisting scanner technologies (FAST) to help simplify and automate time-consuming, complex procedures, thereby supporting clinical personnel at every stage of the CT examination.

The interleaved volume reconstruction (IVR) method uses information from 128 CT slices. In combination with detector coverage of 3.8 cm, the Somatom Perspective can scan long ranges rapidly, making this a suitable scanner for thoracic examinations. Capable of scanning a 50-cm area with high image quality in just 5.21 seconds, the system can potentially image all body regions, widening clinical capabilities to potentially include high-end neurology and cardiac scanning. The scanner offers Siemens’ innovative iterative temporal resolution improvement method (iTRIM), which improves the temporal resolution for cardiac examinations compared to conventional cardiac CT image reconstruction.

Moreover, with its slender gantry and footprint of 18 square meters, the Somatom Perspective can be installed even in small rooms. Typically, it requires less electricity than other CT systems and can be cooled by the ambient air without additional heating, ventilation, and air conditioning. An illumination MoodLight with adjustable light-emitting diode (LED) panel is integrated into the Somatom Perspective to brighten the atmosphere of many exam rooms. Installation typically takes only one day, and the system is available with service and leasing options customized for the community hospital.

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