Gelre hospitals is acquiring the latest generation Siemens PET-CT scanner. This is the Siemens Biograph mCT Flow, which can make a PET and CT scan of the entire body in one continuous movement. This is in contrast to other systems, which combine separate medical images.
The solution combines a CT and PET scan in one device. This offers several advantages. For instance, a CT scanner provides a detailed internal image of the patient, while a PET scan gives a picture of the metabolism of body cells. The latter is important as both cancer cells and inflammations have abnormal metabolism. By combining both techniques, it is possible to accurately determine both the nature and location of the abnormality.
Flowmotion technology
The Siemens Biograph mCT Flow features Flowmotion technology, a technique in which the table slides through the scanner without interruption during the examination. Traditionally, the table slides through the scanner in stages, stopping several times to take a scan of a part of the body. Combining these individual PET images into a complete image of the human body poses risks. For instance, it is very important that combined images have sufficient overlap to avoid varying noise sensitivity. This noise can distort the medical images, giving healthcare providers wrong information about the metabolism of cells. By taking a continuous scan, Siemens Biograph mCT Flow picks up with Flowmotion technology, the noise is the same at all locations of the scan.
In addition, healthcare providers can precisely set which parts of the body they want to scan, which prevents surrounding body parts from being exposed to radiation. This is important, for example, for patients with cancer who receive many scans. Siemens claims that this capability can reduce the amount of radiation patients are exposed to by 32%, depending on the position on the table.
Unique in the Netherlands
The Siemens Biograph mCT Flow is not new and has been available since 2013. However, according to Gelre hospitals, the scanner is unique in the Netherlands. It is the second PET-CT scanner in the Netherlands capable of making a PET scan of the entire body in one continuous motion. The scanner is being purchased now, as specialists are increasingly familiar with the possibilities and advantages of such a combined scan. As a result, the demand for such scans is increasing, making it now financially interesting for Gelre hospitals to purchase a PET-CT scanner themselves.
The new PET-CT scanner is expected to be commissioned by Gelre hospitals after the summer. More information about the Siemens Biograph mCT Flow can be found here.
By: Wouter Hoeffnagel
