At the 2016 Annual Meeting of the European Association of Nuclear Medicine (EANM), Oct. 15-19 in Barcelona, Spain, Siemens Healthineers highlights technical innovations that support standardization of patient care with the added potential to influence care pathways.
This year, Siemens Healthineers debuts an expanded version of its xSPECT Quantâ„¢(1) technology to enable quantification of three additional isotopes using its established Symbia Intevoâ„¢(1) system – which represents the next step in the evolution of single-photon emission computed tomography/computed tomography (SPECT/CT). Additionally, Siemens Healthineers migrates its revolutionary FlowMotionâ„¢ continuous bed motion technology to the company’s established Biograph Horizonâ„¢(1) positron emission tomography/CT (PET/CT) system, which offers premium performance at an attractive total cost of ownership. With these two innovations, Siemens Healthineers helps healthcare providers improve care delivery and set new standards with molecular imaging.
Expanded capabilities for xSPECT Quant
Debuting at EANM 2016 is an expanded version of xSPECT Quant, an established SPECT quantification technology that enables users of the company’s Symbia Intevo SPECT/CT system to perform automated, accurate and reproducible quantification of not just Technetium-99m – the most common isotope in SPECT imaging – but also, for the first time, Iodine-123, Lutetium-177, and Indium-111. This extends the use of advanced SPECT quantification from general nuclear medicine and bone studies to indications including neurological disorders, neuroendocrine tumors, neuroblastoma, and metastatic prostate cancer.
xSPECT Quant is the first and only technology to use a 3% National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) traceable precision source,2 enabling standardization of standard uptake values (SUVs) for reliable disease detection and therapy response using different cameras or dose calibrators or at different treatment facilities. And the technology offers clinicians higher reproducibility than traditional post-reconstruction scaling methods of quantification. The absolute quantification capabilities of xSPECT Quant also can facilitate theranostics, an emerging approach employing radioactive isotopes that emit energies to not only image but also treat the patient’s disease.
In addition to the expanded xSPECT Quant technology, Siemens Healthineers also debuts Broad Quantificationâ„¢1, a more efficient manual quantification method for its Symbia Intevo system. Broad Quantification enables quantification of every available isotope and collimator combination in SPECT imaging.
Biograph Horizon Flow edition
Featured on premium PET/CT systems in the company’s Biograph family, FlowMotion technology enables acquisition of PET images with a continuous motion of the patient table – a sharp deviation from the conventional method where PET images are acquired with sequential bed positions, alternating between image acquisition and patient table motion. With this traditional step-and-shoot approach, bed-based planning and scanning are restricted by the fixed size of the detector array. Also, the complexity of the step-and-shoot technique can limit routine use of advanced PET/CT systems and often results in higher patient radiation dose, increased patient anxiety, and lower workflow efficiency. The step-and-shoot approach also can invite patient motion and related image degradation.
By contrast, FlowMotion continuous bed motion scanning enables personalized exam protocols based on patient anatomy that can be configured based on the department’s most commonly scanned indications to support standardization. Users can define up to four distinct scanning regions, each with a different bed speed. Also, specific image reconstructions can be applied to each region or to multiple regions. FlowMotion facilitates high-resolution reconstructions and respiratory gating, which can help improve clinicians’ ability to detect lesions. And by reducing the complexity of protocol setup, FlowMotion can enable the technologist to spend more time with the patient.
To help clinicians deliver personalized care to more patients, FlowMotion is introduced with Biograph Horizon through the new Biograph Horizon Flow edition.3,4
In addition to FlowMotion technology, Biograph Horizon Flow edition will also include HD
•Chest – another popular feature previously available only on the company’s Biograph mCT Flowâ„¢1 system – for more rapid acquisition of motion-frozen chest scans. Biograph Horizon is also available in its original configuration without FlowMotion technology and HD
•Chest.
1 Symbia Intevo, xSPECT Quant, Broad Quantification, Biograph Horizon, and Biograph mCT Flow are not commercially available in all countries. Due to regulatory reasons, their availability cannot be guaranteed. Please contact your local Siemens organization for further details.
2 Data on file
3 Biograph Horizon Flow edition does not yet fulfill all the essential requirements according to the European Medical Device Directive (93/42/EEC) and its national implementations. It is not yet commercially available in the European Union.
4 Biograph Horizon Flow edition is not for sale in the U.S Its future availability cannot be guaranteed.
About Siemens Healthineers
Siemens Healthineers is the separately managed healthcare business of Siemens AG and enables healthcare providers around the world to meet their current challenges and to excel in their respective environments. A leader in medical technology, Siemens Healthineers is constantly innovating its portfolio of products and services in both its core areas in imaging for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes as well as in laboratory diagnostics and molecular medicine. Siemens Healthineers is also continuously developing its digital health services and hospital management offerings, working closely with operators to develop common fields of business and to help them to not only minimize their risks, but also to exploit new opportunities. In fiscal 2015, which ended on September 30, 2015, Siemens Healthineers generated revenue of €12.9 billion and net income of over €2.1 billion and has about 45,000 employees worldwide. Further information is available on the Internet at www.siemens.com/healthineers
Contact
Mr. Jeff Bell
Siemens Healthineers
40 Liberty Boulevard
19355 Malvern, PA, USA
Tel: +1 (610) 448-6348
jeffrey.t.bell​@siemens.com