Samsung Electronics subsidiary NeuroLogica has received clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for a version of the company's OmniTom Elite mobile CT scanner with photon-counting detector (PCD) technology.
Called OmniTom Elite with PCD, the new system leverages the benefits of photon-counting CT on a mobile system with single-source CT technology and a single detector. The scanner can generate spectral CT images at multiple energy levels, according to the company.
Photon-counting CT scanners measure each individual x-ray photon as it passes through the patient's body. This differs from existing CT instrumentation, in which the scanner's detectors measure the total energy in many x-rays at once.
The Neurologica scanner's single x-ray source, when paired with a photon-counting CT detector, enables the generation of multiple sets of CT data acquired at the same time, using energy thresholds that can be configured without cross talk between images, according to the company. Photon-counting CT can lead to potentially more accurate visualization and segmentation of bone, as well as improved visualization of blood clots, plaque, hemorrhage, and intracranial tumors.
Photon-counting CT also has the potential to result in lower radiation dose and less use of contrast material.