Friday, March 4, 2005

Biograph 64 PET/CT System

Filed under: Cardiology , Radiology

Biograph 64 is the newest PET/CT System by Siemens. From the official announcement:

Die PET/CT system family Biograph by Siemens Medical Solutions welcomes a new member - the Biography 64. The innovative hybrid system combines Positron Emission Tomography (PET) with the fastest Computed Tomograph by Siemens, the 64 slice CT system Somatom 64. The extremely short acquisition times of the Biograph 64 enable detailed and motion-free images of the heart. By combining both modalities into one step, the system is especially suitable for cardiovascular applications. Siemens proves once more its leading role as a developer of new hybrid imaging systems.

Hybrid systems, such as the Biograph 64, combine the functional and structural information of image generation into one system - this means generating comprehensive cardiological acquisitions in a single process during clinical routines. The special PET detectors based on lutetium oxyorthosilicate (LSO) and the new CT technologies (UEC detectors, Straton X-ray tube, z-Sharp technology, etc.) developed by Siemens allow for much shorter acquisition times with the Biograph 64 as compared to previous PET/CT systems. The additional anatomic detail information obtained due to the improved image quality provide the physician with precision diagnostic capabilities. The high-speed detector electronics Pico3D and the HI-REZ technology (high resolution) are instrumental in this effort. The Pico3D electronics greatly optimize the signal-to-noise ratio, while the HI-REZ technology improves the volumetric image resolution by 250 percent.

"A PET/CT system such as the Biograph 64 will enable a true one-stop cardiac assessment as a practical clinical routine," explained Dr. Daniel Berman, head of Cardiological Imaging and Nuclear Cardiology at the Cedars-Sinai Health System in Los Angeles, California, USA.

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