GE Medical Systems has introduced an improved version of the popular LightSpeed QX/i scanner it introduced in 1998. LightSpeed Plus builds on the success of the original and incorporates new features such as variable-speed scanning, which enables doctors to customize patient procedures and perform new types of exams, according to GE.
Variable-speed scanning enables the scanning rotation speed to be adjusted in increments of 0.1 seconds, giving clinicians an unprecedented degree of control over procedures, GE said. For example, patients with heart rates between 50-120 beats per minute can be imaged with LightSpeed Plus, as compared to 50-65 beats per minute on the older model.
The new scanner is designed for operation by a single technologist, who can choose from a list of 300 scan protocols. The system reconstructs, films, networks, and archives the scans automatically, GE said, and will increase technologists' productivity.
By AuntMinnie.com staff writersNovember 6, 2000
Copyright © 2000 AuntMinnie.com
![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)