By Karen Appold
Meeting clinicians’ needs is the goal of the newest nuclear medicine products, many of which are designed to enable clinicians to be confident in their diagnosis the first time. In some cases, products are even developed in collaboration with clinicians to ensure they ultimately fill a demand and provide enhanced value. Here is a look at some of the latest nuclear medicine innovations on the market.
Vereos PET/CT from Philips
Delivering advanced image quality, critical information, and connectivity for seamless real-time collaboration among clinicians and fast, confident decision-making is the goal of Philips’ new 510(k)-cleared Vereos PET/CT. Philips partners with clinicians to drive the clinical performance and economic value of its solutions to find the shortest path to the best care with the most efficient use of resources.
“We work closely with radiologists to understand their biggest challenges, and incorporate these understandings in the development of innovative products like Vereos PET/CT to meet their complex imaging needs,” said Gene Saragnese, CEO, Imaging Systems at Philips Healthcare. “These innovations demonstrate how Philips is providing radiologists with exceptional quality and accuracy in imaging at low dose rates, and helping clinicians to get answers the first time around so that they can deliver accurate and more confident diagnoses to patients.”
Vereos PET/CT’s technological advances take traditional PET scans to the next level. It is the first PET/CT system to use innovative digital silicon photomultiplier detectors instead of traditional analog detectors, resulting in a step change in performance that includes an approximately two-times increase in sensitivity gain, volumetric resolution, and quantitative accuracy compared to analog systems. These improvements result in high image quality, increased diagnostic confidence, improved treatment planning, and faster workflows.
Biograph mCT Flow from Siemens
Biograph mCT Flow PET/CT from Siemens
Relatively new to market and showcased at RSNA 2013, the Biograph mCT Flow PET/CT system overcomes the limitations of conventional bed-based, stop-and-go PET/CT imaging with FlowMotion, a revolutionary technology that moves the patient smoothly through the system’s gantry while continuously acquiring PET data. Biograph mCT Flow with FlowMotion enables imaging protocols based on the organ’s need, leveraging fine resolution. FlowMotion expands accurate, reproducible quantification in all dimensions for precise disease characterization in therapy monitoring, while enabling physicians to offer as low as reasonably achievable (ALARA) dose to every patient. Additionally, the combination of a 78 cm bore with 5-minute ultrafast scanning and a continuous sense of progress throughout the scan offers a more comfortable exam experience for the patient.
Symbio Intevo from Siemens
Also still new to the market and showcased at RSNA 2013, Symbia Intevo is the world’s first xSPECT system, combining the high sensitivity of single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) with the high specificity of CT. Completely integrating data from both modalities, Symbia Intevo generates high resolution and, for the first time, quantitative images for SPECT. The xSPECT modality reconstructs both the SPECT and CT portions of the image using the high-definition CT frame of reference for precise, accurate alignment that facilitates the extraction and deep integration of medically relevant information.
Xeleris 3.1 from GE Healthcare
The latest release of GE Healthcare’s Xeleris software—which made its debut in the United States at RSNA 2013—enables automation, personalization, and access to advanced and unique applications required to harness the power of nuclear medicine examinations. Nuclear medicine clinicians will gain access to specific image results where and when they are needed. With its open interface architecture, Xeleris applications can now be launched through an integrated unified desktop from the Universal Viewer, as well as using the generic Application Programming Interface with other PACS vendors, thus providing radiologists and nuclear medicine physicians with tools previously only available on the Xeleris workstation, for enhanced access and productivity.
GE’s Xeleris 3.1
The Xeleris workstation includes DaTQUANT, which enables visual evaluation and quantification of 123I ioflupane images. This application provides tools to analyze dopaminergic neuron terminal binding and differences between multiple scans and may offer adjunct information to physicians assessing patients for Parkinson’s disease. It also provides an exclusive AdreView planar application for automated heart to mediastinum ratio generation for Iobenguane I-123 images and the Dosimetry Toolkit for a quantitative SPECT and Planar calculation of the radioisotope therapy planning value.
“The personalized workflow and unique new clinical applications will give clinicians the information they demand with speed, convenience, and flexibility,” said Nathan Hermony, general manager for GE Healthcare’s Nuclear Medicine business.
Discovery NM750b from GE Healthcare
GE Healthcare’s molecular breast imaging (MBI) technology, the Discovery NM750b, enables high-sensitivity imaging to detect breast cancer in patients considered to be higher risk due to dense breast tissue, or for patients who are unable to undergo standard magnetic resonance imaging exams or need additional imaging. Images produced by Discovery NM750b are similar to those acquired through standard mammography, but do not produce x-ray radiation and require approximately 30% less tissue compression. Discovery NM750b also enables clinicians to effectively monitor and track treatment to detect signs of disease reoccurrence.
GE’s Discovery NM750b
“Since the uptake of the tracer in an MBI scan is dependent upon cellular metabolism, MBI technology gives us a functional rather than anatomic assessment of breast lesions, which is extremely unique information and an especially valuable tool permitting earlier diagnosis of breast cancer in patients at risk,” said Kathy Schilling, MD, medical director of Boca Regional’s Christine E. Lynn Women’s Health & Wellness Institute, in Florida, where GE Healthcare’s Discovery NM750b was recently installed.
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