New SPECT/CT Scanner to Help Providers Transition Away from SPECT-Only Systems
By MedImaging International staff writers Posted on 14 Jun 2022 |

Historically, single photon emission computed tomography/computed tomography (SPECT/CT) has not been accessible to all healthcare providers. Instead, many institutions continue to use SPECT-only gamma cameras, which cannot always accommodate the clinical needs of a modern molecular-imaging or radiology department. Now, a new SPECT/CT scanner with its optimized, low-dose imaging, intuitive workflow, and ability to fit into most existing SPECT rooms removes barriers to SPECT/CT adoption and helps providers to transition from SPECT-only and early-generation SPECT/CT systems.
Siemens Healthineers (Erlangen, Germany) has launched Symbia Pro.specta, a SPECT/CT system with CE mark and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance that has advanced SPECT and CT imaging technologies. Capabilities include a low-dose CT of up to 64 slices for impressive detail, automatic SPECT motion correction for additional image clarity, and an intuitive and automated workflow to guide the user through the entire decision-making process of the examination. Symbia Pro.specta is an all-purpose system that can be customized to accommodate a wide range of clinical exams, patient types, and department settings.
At the heart of Symbia Pro.specta is myExam Companion, which includes an intuitive user interface that eliminates the traditional manual and user-dependent SPECT/CT imaging workflow. myExam Companion provides automated tools to guide the user through every step of the exam’s decision-making process - from system and patient preparation to image acquisition and reconstruction to evaluation and post-processing. This enables departments to achieve consistent results quickly and more easily, regardless of the patient, procedure, or user experience level. Another major innovation that comes as standard is data-driven patient motion correction, which automatically corrects for patient movement in a SPECT exam with the click of a button, improving image quality without adding complexity. Additionally, data-driven respiratory motion correction for cardiac examinations is available as an option.
Designed for all SPECT/CT imaging applications, Symbia Pro.specta can be tailored as needed with specialized clinical tools for optimized imaging in cardiology, neurology, oncology, orthopedics, and more. Flexible detectors along with an accessible design facilitate imaging for a wide range of patient types - including pediatric, obese, and physically challenged patients - without compromising exam quality, patient comfort, or staff efficiency. The scanner also can be used for either stand-alone diagnostic CT or SPECT imaging, providing the user with the same intuitive interface for simpler operation.
Symbia Pro.specta features a minimum of 32 and a maximum of 64 CT slices, and it comes standard with a tin filter and CT iterative reconstruction for ultra-low patient and room dose. Its advanced quantification capabilities help the user determine the patient’s response to therapy. Capable of imaging at any energy level, the scanner is primed for imaging the high-energy isotopes increasingly used in theranostics, an approach that combines diagnostic and therapeutic agents to treat patients.
“Siemens Healthineers is proud to introduce the Symbia Pro.specta SPECT/CT scanner, which provides our customers with the ideal vehicle for transitioning from their SPECT-only and first-generation SPECT/CT cameras to a state-of-the-art SPECT/CT scanner that can perform a full spectrum of nuclear medicine examinations,” said Jim Williams, PhD, Head of Siemens Healthineers Molecular Imaging. “Symbia Pro.specta will help healthcare institutions overcome barriers to care by ensuring accessibility through its ease of use and ability to fit into existing SPECT rooms.”
Related Links:
Siemens Healthineers
Latest General/Advanced Imaging News
- AI-Powered Imaging System Improves Lung Cancer Diagnosis
- AI Model Significantly Enhances Low-Dose CT Capabilities
- Ultra-Low Dose CT Aids Pneumonia Diagnosis in Immunocompromised Patients
- AI Reduces CT Lung Cancer Screening Workload by Almost 80%
- Cutting-Edge Technology Combines Light and Sound for Real-Time Stroke Monitoring
- AI System Detects Subtle Changes in Series of Medical Images Over Time
- New CT Scan Technique to Improve Prognosis and Treatments for Head and Neck Cancers
- World’s First Mobile Whole-Body CT Scanner to Provide Diagnostics at POC
- Comprehensive CT Scans Could Identify Atherosclerosis Among Lung Cancer Patients
- AI Improves Detection of Colorectal Cancer on Routine Abdominopelvic CT Scans
- Super-Resolution Technology Enhances Clinical Bone Imaging to Predict Osteoporotic Fracture Risk
- AI-Powered Abdomen Map Enables Early Cancer Detection
- Deep Learning Model Detects Lung Tumors on CT
- AI Predicts Cardiovascular Risk from CT Scans
- Deep Learning Based Algorithms Improve Tumor Detection in PET/CT Scans
- New Technology Provides Coronary Artery Calcification Scoring on Ungated Chest CT Scans
Channels
Radiography
view channel
World's Largest Class Single Crystal Diamond Radiation Detector Opens New Possibilities for Diagnostic Imaging
Diamonds possess ideal physical properties for radiation detection, such as exceptional thermal and chemical stability along with a quick response time. Made of carbon with an atomic number of six, diamonds... Read more
AI-Powered Imaging Technique Shows Promise in Evaluating Patients for PCI
Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), also known as coronary angioplasty, is a minimally invasive procedure where small metal tubes called stents are inserted into partially blocked coronary arteries... Read moreMRI
view channel
AI Tool Tracks Effectiveness of Multiple Sclerosis Treatments Using Brain MRI Scans
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a condition in which the immune system attacks the brain and spinal cord, leading to impairments in movement, sensation, and cognition. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) markers... Read more
Ultra-Powerful MRI Scans Enable Life-Changing Surgery in Treatment-Resistant Epileptic Patients
Approximately 360,000 individuals in the UK suffer from focal epilepsy, a condition in which seizures spread from one part of the brain. Around a third of these patients experience persistent seizures... Read more
AI-Powered MRI Technology Improves Parkinson’s Diagnoses
Current research shows that the accuracy of diagnosing Parkinson’s disease typically ranges from 55% to 78% within the first five years of assessment. This is partly due to the similarities shared by Parkinson’s... Read more
Biparametric MRI Combined with AI Enhances Detection of Clinically Significant Prostate Cancer
Artificial intelligence (AI) technologies are transforming the way medical images are analyzed, offering unprecedented capabilities in quantitatively extracting features that go beyond traditional visual... Read moreUltrasound
view channel
AI Identifies Heart Valve Disease from Common Imaging Test
Tricuspid regurgitation is a condition where the heart's tricuspid valve does not close completely during contraction, leading to backward blood flow, which can result in heart failure. A new artificial... Read more
Novel Imaging Method Enables Early Diagnosis and Treatment Monitoring of Type 2 Diabetes
Type 2 diabetes is recognized as an autoimmune inflammatory disease, where chronic inflammation leads to alterations in pancreatic islet microvasculature, a key factor in β-cell dysfunction.... Read moreNuclear Medicine
view channel
Novel PET Imaging Approach Offers Never-Before-Seen View of Neuroinflammation
COX-2, an enzyme that plays a key role in brain inflammation, can be significantly upregulated by inflammatory stimuli and neuroexcitation. Researchers suggest that COX-2 density in the brain could serve... Read more
Novel Radiotracer Identifies Biomarker for Triple-Negative Breast Cancer
Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), which represents 15-20% of all breast cancer cases, is one of the most aggressive subtypes, with a five-year survival rate of about 40%. Due to its significant heterogeneity... Read moreImaging IT
view channel
New Google Cloud Medical Imaging Suite Makes Imaging Healthcare Data More Accessible
Medical imaging is a critical tool used to diagnose patients, and there are billions of medical images scanned globally each year. Imaging data accounts for about 90% of all healthcare data1 and, until... Read more
Global AI in Medical Diagnostics Market to Be Driven by Demand for Image Recognition in Radiology
The global artificial intelligence (AI) in medical diagnostics market is expanding with early disease detection being one of its key applications and image recognition becoming a compelling consumer proposition... Read moreIndustry News
view channel
GE HealthCare and NVIDIA Collaboration to Reimagine Diagnostic Imaging
GE HealthCare (Chicago, IL, USA) has entered into a collaboration with NVIDIA (Santa Clara, CA, USA), expanding the existing relationship between the two companies to focus on pioneering innovation in... Read more
Patient-Specific 3D-Printed Phantoms Transform CT Imaging
New research has highlighted how anatomically precise, patient-specific 3D-printed phantoms are proving to be scalable, cost-effective, and efficient tools in the development of new CT scan algorithms... Read more
Siemens and Sectra Collaborate on Enhancing Radiology Workflows
Siemens Healthineers (Forchheim, Germany) and Sectra (Linköping, Sweden) have entered into a collaboration aimed at enhancing radiologists' diagnostic capabilities and, in turn, improving patient care... Read more