Monday, May 19, 2008

Demand Is High for Brilliance iCT, a 256-Slice CT from Philips

Filed under: Cardiology , Critical Care , Emergency Medicine , Medicine , Neurological Surgery , Neurology , Ob/Gyn , Oncology , Orthopedic Surgery , Radiology , Surgery , Thoracic Surgery , Urology , Vascular Surgery


It seems just like it was yesterday when we were covering 64 slice CT scanners as the best and the latest thing in cardiac diagnostics. But technology is moving forward, and the demand for monstrous 256-slice CT scanners is quite high. Readers might recall our coverage of Toshiba's Aquilion beta 256, the world's first 256-slice CT scanner. Philips Electronics is now reporting that their 256 scanner, Brilliance iCT, unveiled last November, is now installed in 5 medical centers across the world (MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland, Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis, Carmel Medical Center in Haifa, Israel, in Washington Hospital Center in Washington, D.C., and in Lenox Hill Hospital in NYC), with 50 (!) more systems to be installed by the end of 2008.

Here's what Philips says about its Brilliance iCT with Essence technology:

... customers tout the system’s ability to provide greater dimension and depth across a range of clinical areas such as whole brain perfusion, cardiac CT with Step & Shoot technology that images the heart in two beats while reducing dose, head and neck angiography, full field of view lung studies, virtual colonoscopy and abdominal and pelvic imaging. Brilliance iCT with Essence technology offers an impressive combination of speed, power and coverage to improve image quality while incorporating the latest dose reduction technology. Overall patient experience is improved through shorter scan times.

In addition to the 256 slice intelligent Brilliance iCT, the Brilliance 64-channel configuration is also designed with Essence technology. Unique and proprietary to Philips, Essence technology brings advances to the X-ray tube, detector system, and reconstruction engine while offering a scalable platform to enhance image quality and dose efficiencies.

“With Brilliance iCT, the superb image quality aids our clinicians in the diagnosis of complicated health conditions,” said Dr. Nathan Peled, head department of radiology of Carmel Medical Center in Haifa, Israel. “The system has delivered increased rotation speeds and improved image quality and clinical performance for diagnostic confidence in routine and advanced radiological imaging.”

Below you can find the technical backgrounder paper distributed by the company:

Read this doc on Scribd: brilliance iCT technical backgrounder

Product page: Brilliance iCT...

Press release: Philips accelerates plans to install Brilliance iCT around the world...

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replies: 5 comments
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Actually, the Toshiba Aquillon was secretly a 320 slice CT scanner, and NOT 256 slice as advertised. See here for the specs: http://www.toshiba-europe.com/Medical/Medicallr.asp?PageID=43&Material_ID=429

The one at Johns Hopkins that you reported one was a 320 slice all the time, but this fact was kept under wraps. I've seen one of these beasts at the Leiden University Medical Centre where I work as well (second installation in Europe, after the Charite in Berlin).

This means that all other 256 slice scanners are essentially out-dated already by Toshiba's offering. :)


Posted by: Charl Botha
on May 19, 2008 03:24 PM GMT

The Toshiba 320 is only a leading scanner if you are interested in doing heads and hearts only... We all know that it's technologically limited and becomes a 64 slice scanner when you try to use it on the rest of the anatomy... Good luck w/ getting that justified by your finance board... :)


Posted by: Interested Party
on May 19, 2008 06:51 PM GMT

The Philips iCT is the only scanner that truly offers 256 slice aquisition throughout the entire body and at full speed. Toshiba has a higher slice count but only for head and heart exams...lame


Posted by: TheDude
on June 17, 2008 01:16 PM GMT

Please peoples,

The Philips ICT is still under development, unable to scan a days program without going down.
TOSHIBA's Aquilion ONE outperforms the ICT in cone beam treatment and therefore image quality, coverage, applications and not to be forgotten reliability.
Buy the Aquilion and you get a unique working scanner.
Buy an ICT, including promises and troubles till 2010.


Posted by: GoodComment
on August 7, 2008 12:21 PM GMT

And can any of you guys above state that you are not involved with Philips or Toshiba? I dont think so.


Posted by: NitricOxide
on February 18, 2009 10:27 AM GMT

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