Siemens will focus on new product developments at the upper tier of CT, demonstrating progress the company has made on the Somatom Sensation 64 scanner first introduced at last year's RSNA show. But the company isn't neglecting other CT market segments, and indicates that a new entry-level multislice product could be introduced at this year's meeting.
Sensation 64 features Siemens' unique z-Sharp technology as part of the scanner's Straton x-ray tube. z-Sharp enables the Straton tube to produce two overlapping x-ray beams, which are read out simultaneously on the scanner's 32-channel detectors. The technology produces 64-slice projections with a slice distance as low as 0.3 mm, which the company claims increases spatial resolution and image quality.
Since the last RSNA show, Siemens has introduced a cardiac version of Sensation 64 with a gantry rotation speed of 330 msec. The radiology version of Sensation 64 has a gantry rotation speed of 370 msec. Sensation 64 also features isotropic spatial resolution of 0.4 mm.
Siemens will also demonstrate clinical images produced from the first Sensation 64 installations. A highlight will be images from cardiac and CT angiography cases, in which the scanner's high slice count and fast rotation speed prove invaluable for dynamic imaging studies, according to the company. Works-in-progress panels in Siemens' booth will focus on the company's work in making enhancements to Sensation 64's temporal resolution, an important factor for cardiac studies.
While the high end of the CT market gains most of the attention, Siemens isn't ignoring the entry-level segment. The company plans to launch a new line of entry-level scanners based on multislice technology that will allow CT users to gain the benefits of multislice scanning without the premium price tag.
By Brian Casey
AuntMinnie.com staff writer
November 9, 2004
Copyright © 2004 AuntMinnie.com
