Toshiba Medical Systems plans to use this week's ECR 2015 meeting to launch Aquilion Lightning, a new 16-detector-row CT scanner.
Lightning is equipped with a small element detector size of 0.5 mm for routine isotropic imaging, and is packaged in an environmentally and ergonomically friendly design, Toshiba said. The scanner incorporates the latest generation of Toshiba's fast iterative reconstruction technology (AIDR 3D Enhanced) as well as Toshiba's new PureVision detector to minimize radiation exposure.
Also included are advanced clinical applications including single-energy metal artifact reduction (SEMAR) to eliminate metal artifacts and improve visualization of implants, supporting bone and adjacent soft tissue, Toshiba said.
In addition, the firm's SureSubtraction technology improves visualization of vessels and contrast-enhanced tissue structures, Toshiba said, while the company's Navi mode technology offers simplified scanner operation and guides novices through every step of the operation.
Lightning sports a 78-cm gantry opening to accommodate even the largest patients, Toshiba added. And the couch-top can be lowered to a minimum height of 312 mm from the floor, to facilitate transfers of patients from a wheelchair or gurney. Finally, a footprint of just 9.8 m2 allows the scanner to be placed in the smallest exam rooms to enhance the working environment, Toshiba said.
Lightning will originally be sold only in Europe, with the first installation going into Germany in early March.
![Axial images from unenhanced calcium score cardiac CT (left) and curved planar reformation images from CT angiography (right) show that higher long-term exposure to air pollution is associated with greater coronary artery calcium and more obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD). Top row: Images in a 68-year-old male patient with higher 10-year mean ambient air pollution exposure (7.9 μg/m3 for particulate matter measuring ≤2.5 μm in diameter [PM2.5] and 17.4 parts per billion [ppb] for NO2) with extensive CAD (coronary artery calcium score [CACS] >1,000 and obstructive CAD [≥70% diameter stenosis]). Bottom row: Images in a 57-year-old female patient with lower 10-year mean ambient air pollution exposure (6.3 μg/m3 for PM2.5 and 4.6 ppb for NO2) with no CAD (CACS = 0 and no obstructive stenosis).](https://img.auntminnie.com/mindful/smg/workspaces/default/uploads/2026/06/hanneman.r6SMLzkezo.png?auto=format%2Ccompress&dpr=2&fit=crop&h=167&q=70&w=250)
