Somatom Definition AS: The World’s First Adaptive Computed Tomograph

This new CT scanner from Siemens AG is touted to adapt to “virtually any patient and clinical need.” The world’s first Somatom Definition AS system has just been installed at the University Hospital Erlangen in Germany:

The system is suitable for routine diagnostic work as well as for more complex examinations in, for example, oncology, neurology and cardiology. It is also ideally suited for emergency situations where speedy diagnosis for accident, stroke or heart attack patients are concerned. Even difficult patients – obese, claustrophobic and children – are quickly scanned with high diagnostic confidence. The first system has recently been installed at the University Hospital Trauma Center at Erlangen, Germany. Not only will all clinical situations be accelerated but also examinations of seriously wounded patients will permit faster application of life-saving treatments.
The Somatom Definition AS is the first scanner to combine such dynamic components as the Adaptive Dose Shield with a scan field of up to 200 cm and the 78-cm gantry opening. This allows fast and problem-free head-to-foot scanning, even for poly trauma patients. The unequaled high temporal resolution of up to 150 ms — combined with extremely fast coverage with up to 128 slices per rotation — makes crystal-clear images possible, free of movement artifacts, of even the finest anatomical details. This permits for example highly accurate measurement of stenosis and/or precise planning for stent implantation.
Another outstanding feature is the new Adaptive 4D-Spiral. The continuous movement of the patient table permits a larger area to be imaged so that entire organs and their functions can be examined with a single scan. In a stroke situation, for example, the entire brain perfusion can be displayed. With previous systems, only a portion of the affected organ could be imaged. “We hope we can diagnose stroke earlier than before. Time is brain. The earlier we get the patient to therapy, the better”, said Werner Bautz, M.D., Director of the Institute for Radiology and Medical Director of the University Hospital Erlangen.
Minimal invasive procedures will also become faster and more certain. Biopsies of suspicious tumor tissues can, for the first time, be performed with the help of 3D image guidance. Accurate needle positioning will thereby become clinical routine.

Product page: SOMATOM Definition AS …
Press release: The Trauma Center at the University Hospital Erlangen Installs the First Siemens Somatom Definition AS, the World’s First Adaptive Computed Tomograph …