VIENNA - The CT world has been buzzing since the introduction of the next generation of multislice CT scanners at last year's RSNA meeting. Attendees at the European Congress of Radiology got a sneak peak at the capabilities of these new machines.
Dr. Nathan Peled of the Carmel Medical Center in Haifa, Israel, showed images obtained with a Brilliance scanner supplied by Philips Medical Systems from the company’s facility in Haifa.
"The purpose of the study...was to evaluate the possible added benefits of the new scanner compared to the current 16-slice scanners, on which we have an accumulated experience of 20,000 patients," Peled said.
The most significant benefit identified by Peled was the shortened exam time enabled by the scanner. The 40-slice configuration covers 40 mm per rotation at speeds up to 144 mm per second, Peled said, allowing for a total body scan -- "chin to toes" -- to be completed in 10 to 15 seconds.
"For the chest, we are now able to get high-quality images basically on any patient regardless of his or her degree of cooperation," Peled said.
"Cardiac imaging will benefit the most due to the capacity to include practically any patient who might need the examination, mainly due to the significant reduction in scan time," he added.
Routine thin-slice scanning also implies improved spatial resolution and improved contrast between small regions, Peled said, resulting in clearer and more precise diagnoses. He reported seeing fewer artifacts and less noise on the 40-slice images.
With the increased coverage volume, "it is possible to perform CTA of neck, chest, abdomen, and runoff in one session," Peled said. "This is not the daily practice, but it is possible if necessary."
Another benefit is a further reduction in x-ray dose during exams, Peled noted. While his group was able to reduce dosages by 15% to 20% simply by moving to a 16-slice scanner, the 40-slice configuration allowed yet another 15% to 20% reduction in dose.
According to Peled, the scanner has two modes of collimation: a thin-slice mode of 40 x 0.625 mm covers 25 mm in a rotation, with a slice-thickness reconstruction of 0.67 mm, and a 32 mm x 1.25 mm slice thickness that covers 40 mm in each rotation, with 1.25 mm slice reconstruction.
One particularly striking image shown by Peled was a nonenhanced abdominal CT. "I like this study very much," he said while projecting the image for the audience. "(It) is very impressive for its ability to demonstrate very clearly tiny abdominal details without any injection at all."
By Tracie L. ThompsonAuntMinnie.com staff writer
March 7, 2004
Related Reading
Philips touts 40-slice CT, new MRI family, December 4, 2003
New CT, MR scanners lead Siemens RSNA introductions, December 2, 2003
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