Researchers at the University of Wisconsin (UW) in Madison plan to begin a study that will use GE Healthcare's silicon-based photon counting CT system with human subjects in December.
The silicon detectors may enable higher spatial and spectral resolution simultaneously, due to their material purity, geometric design, and multibin technology, GE said.
GE's Photon counting CT system. Image courtesy of GE Healthcare.The device has also been used at the Karolinska Institute in Solna, Sweden. The new prototype now features a larger detector, ECG-gated cardiac scan capability, and faster acquisition speed; the university's work with the system will evaluate its reconstruction methods, image presentation workflows, and clinical benefits for specific pathologies and disease types, according to the firm.
![Images show the pectoralis muscles of a healthy male individual who never smoked (age, 66 years; height, 178 cm; body mass index [BMI, calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared], 28.4; number of cigarette pack-years, 0; forced expiratory volume in 1 second [FEV1], 97.6% predicted; FEV1: forced vital capacity [FVC] ratio, 0.71; pectoralis muscle area [PMA], 59.4 cm2; pectoralis muscle volume [PMV], 764 cm3) and a male individual with a smoking history and chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD) (age, 66 years; height, 178 cm; BMI, 27.5; number of cigarette pack-years, 43.2, FEV1, 48% predicted; FEV1:FVC, 0.56; PMA, 35 cm2; PMV, 480.8 cm3) from the Canadian Cohort Obstructive Lung Disease (i.e., CanCOLD) study. The CT image is shown in the axial plane. The PMV is automatically extracted using the developed deep learning model and overlayed onto the lungs for visual clarity.](https://img.auntminnie.com/mindful/smg/workspaces/default/uploads/2026/03/genkin.25LqljVF0y.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&crop=focalpoint&dpr=2&fit=crop&h=167&q=70&w=250)
