SPECT/CT Fusion Technology Improves Dose Management with Shorter Acquisition Times

A hybrid-imaging platform is designed to improve workflow, dose management, and overall image quality.

GE Healthcare (Chalfont St. Giles, UK), a unit of General Electric Co. (Fairfield, CT, USA), announced it has received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) 510k clearance to market in the United States. the Discovery nuclear medicine/computed tomography NM/CT 670, a nuclear medicine/computed tomography imaging system. After a successful European launch, the system is being installed at customer sites in Finland, France, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Belgium, Australia, Israel, Morocco, and the United States.

The Discovery NM/CT 670 system combines GE Healthcare's BrightSpeed Elite 16-slice CT, a newly designed single photon emission tomography (SPECT) gantry for greater positional flexibility, and the latest advancements in nuclear medicine detectors. The Discovery NM/CT 670 has the capability to shorten acquisition times, improve dose management, and enable more convenient patient scheduling in comparison to separate, traditional SPECT and CT exams.

Focusing on improving the patient experience, the system can reduce scan time dramatically. Bone imaging protocols, including planar whole body, three-dimensional (3D) SPECT and CT attenuation correction/localization, are among the most frequently performed nuclear medicine procedures. With conventional nuclear hybrid imaging, a traditional bone imaging protocol can take up to 35 minutes. With the Discovery NM/CT 670, the imaging time is reduced to as little as 16 minutes. A shorter, more comfortable scan helps to improve image quality, allowing clinicians to be more confident in their diagnosis.

"With the combination of advanced CT and SPECT technology available on the Discovery NM/CT 670, we will be able to optimize both our SPECT and low dose diagnostic CT protocols,” said Prof. Sigrid Stroobants of Universitair Ziekenhuis Antwerpen (UZA; Antwerp, Belgium). "In addition, the innovative technology has the ability to improve localization and overall clinical confidence in routine scans and research applications.”

"We have a long history of innovation in nuclear medicine, including introducing the world's first SPECT/CT more than 10 years ago,” said Nathan Hermony, general manager of GE Healthcare's nuclear medicine business. "With the Discovery NM/CT 670, we are providing clinicians the ability to discover and explore new capabilities while continuing to perform advanced hybrid and standalone CT procedures. We understand that a clinician does not want to compromise. By providing the latest in SPECT and CT technology, clinicians and researchers can explore new dimensions of disease and provide the best possible treatment and monitoring of the patient.”

The Discovery NM/CT 670 platform incorporates flexible workflow technology advancements from 11 years of Infinia Hawkeye series innovations and installations with a modular gantry. The BrightSpeed Elite, providing proven multislice CT performance, completes the academic system.

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