Siemens Healthcare introduced its next-generation Biograph mCT, a positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT) scanner at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) in Chicago. The new Biograph mCT incorporates the Siemens OptisoHD (High-Definition) Detector System, which will feature a volumetric resolution of 87 mm3. Other technologies include Time of Flight and High-Definition PET, ensuring fast, precise images with minimum radiation dose. This enables precise measurements of metabolic processes including the assessment of neurological disease, cancerous tissue and cardiac blood flow.
In this device the diagnosis of neurodegenerative diseases, such as dementia, got a special focus. With potential new PET biomarkers, reliable imaging of beta-amyloid plaque in the brain may be possible, providing information to aid in the diagnosis of dementia, potentially slowing disease progression through earlier care.
Jerry Froelich, MD, FACR, Loken Professor of Radiological Sciences at the University of Minnesota is cited in the press release:
“By bringing accuracy and reproducibility to quantification in PET, we can more precisely characterize cancer lesions, allowing for better staging and monitoring of the change in activity over time for more accurate assessment of treatment response. In cardiology, being able to measure absolute myocardial blood flow allows for accurate assessment of multi-vessel disease. In neurology, the potential is huge. The ability to noninvasively assess the brain can improve the diagnosis and therefore management of patients presenting signs of Alzheimer’s disease.”
The syngo clinical applications provide essential tools to obtain quantifiable measurements in neurology, cardiology and oncology imaging. SUVpeak, new in the syngo.via oncology engine, provides consistent and reproducible quantitative assessments of hot spots. Myocardial Blood Flow (MBF) can be used as a quantification method to assess disease in all areas of the heart and a new quantitative tool in neurology, the syngo.PET Neuro application, automatically registers brain data to a normals database to assist in the assessment of neurological disorders.
The new Biograph mCT is currently under review by the FDA.
Press release: Siemens’ New Biograph mCT PET-CT System Enables Greater Diagnostic Certainty
Flashback: Siemens Biograph mMR MR/PET Tomograph Gets U.S. Clearance