Johannesburg - A CT scan that allows physicians to use colour within CT images and another scan that produces three-dimensional images that provide insight into what is happening inside the body at a molecular and cellular level.
These are just some of the latest innovations in medical technology imaging that were unveiled at the 99th Annual Meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) in Chigaco recently.
Royal Phillips introduced their PET/CT scanner and their IQon Spectral CT imaging system which they hailed as “breakthroughs” in the advancement of image quality.
“Radiology and imaging play an essential role in diagnosis and therapy. Our strategy is providing overall care at lower costs,” said Gene Saragnese, chief executive of imaging systems at Phillips Healthcare.
The IQon Spectral CT, he said, was a first in the industry.
“It gives a definitive diagnosis, adding spectral resolution to image quality,” he said.
In the same way that white light is made up of a spectrum of colours, the X-ray beam used in CT scanners also consist of a spectrum of X-ray energies. The scanner delivers anatomical information and the ability to characterise structures based on their material make-up, within a single scan.
With the Vereos Digital PET/CT, doctors can now detect cancers earlier through 3D images that show what’s happening on a cellular and molecular level.
The AlluraClarity Interventional X-Ray, which was also unveiled for the first time, was declared a revolutionary product which would allow doctors to look deeper into obese patients to diagnose diseases.
“The timing and precision of disease diagnosis is critical to the successful treatment of many diseases because it means lower staging of diseases and more effective treatment,” said Dr Pablo Ros, chairman of the department of radiology at the University Hospital’s Case Medical Centre in Cleveland. - The Star