Volumetric Imaging System Provides Safer and More Efficient Alternative to Conventional CT Scan

A new volumetric imaging scanner utilizes between 100 to 1,000 times less radiation than a standard computed tomography (CT) scan. This is a major achievement in light of the new findings regarding emitted radiation in CT scans.

According to a study published in the November 29, 2007, issue of New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), in 2006, about 62 million CT scans were administered in the United States compared to the three million scans that were administered to the American population in 1980. More disturbingly, as many as 2% of all cancers in the United Stated may be due to radiation from CT scans given now.

CT scans are popular within the medical community because they offer a fast, painless way to visualize three-dimensional (3D) images in a two-dimensional plane, but as the researchers concluded, CT scans are being offered too readily to patients with little concern for the problems of radiation. One of the report's authors, Dr. Eric Hall, stated in a press conference, "We were astonished to find, when we were researching materials for this paper, how many doctors, particularly emergency room physicians, really had no idea of the magnitude of the doses or the potential risks that were involved.” A CT scan can have radiation doses 50 to 250 times greater than the dose of a conventional X-ray according to the report.

In response to the growing concern over the dosage of radiation emitted from CT scans, companies such as Imaging3 Inc. (IMGG; Burbank, CA, USA) have utilized the latest fluoroscopy technology to emit a much reduced dosage of radiation and produce a more accurate image. In fact, the image is more accurate than the standard CT scanners because the reading is three dimensional and constructed in real time.

Imaging3 has developed and patented a breakthrough technology, known as the Dominion volumetric imaging scanner (DVIS), which utilizes high-resolution photo-fluoroscopy to produce three-dimensional medical diagnostic images in real time. Because these 3D images are instantly constructed in real time, they can be used for any current or new medical procedures in which multiple frames of reference are required to perform medical procedures on or in the human body. The Dominion volumetric imaging scanner stands to benefit a multitude of medical sectors, including trauma, cardiology, pain management, pediatrics, orthopedics, sports medicine, vascular, and neurovascular. The scanner's 3D, real-time imaging capabilities will allow surgeons to complete less invasive and more precise procedures.

According to Dean Janes of Imaging3, CT scanners have been increasing in dose as they continue to acquire more and more imagery to better create 3D imagery and diagnostic images. He stated, "Currently with the latest models these devices are purported …to expose the patient to over 3,000 mrem, which is close to what survivors or Hiroshima were exposed to roughly one mile away from the atomic bomb. Our device uses high-speed photo fluoroscopy, which uses roughly between 100 to 1,000 times less radiation to perform the same 3D imagery as well as CT slice data. Our device is currently awaiting FDA [U.S. Food and Drug Administration] approval and it is a patented, one of a kind, breakthrough technology.”

The DVIS production prototype was recently introduced at the RSNA, Radiological Society of North America scientific exhibit, held annually in Chicago, IL, USA, in November. The device was well received by over 70,000 physicians in attendance form all over the world.


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