PET Technology Devised for Heart Imaging

A new positron emission tomography (PET) system was developed and optimized for molecular imaging of the heart, making it a suitable solution for cardiologists and hospitals looking to add high accuracy, cost effective imaging technology.

The nuclear cardiology imaging scene has been dominated by single photon emission tomography (SPECT) until recently when the U.S. imaging world was shaken by the announcement of SPECT reimbursement cuts by the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), combined with the world shortage of the molybdenum-99 isotope. Many in the industry are looking for new technologies to improve their diagnostic accuracy, improve patient outcomes, reduce patient radiation exposure all while adding to their bottom line. The elusive solution to this dismal situation may lie in an already well-established underutilized imaging modality: PET.


While PET is a more costly procedure than the SPECT imaging, the use of PET in cardiac nuclear medicine has been shown to reduce long-term costs and resolve clinically complicated cases. The accuracy of PET helps reduce the need for unnecessary angiograms. It can also reduce bypass surgeries by more accurately risk-stratifying patients that may require the invasive procedure from those that might benefit from alternative therapies. This modality has also been shown to monitor therapy quantitatively, which helps provide personalized medicine plan for each patient. PET, specifically without a computed tomography (CT), has shown to have the lowest radiation exposure for the assessment of coronary disease.

Taking advantage of these trends, Positron Corp. (Fishers, IN, USA) strategically introduced the industry's first cardiac optimized PET scanner, Attrius. The scanner is designed to provide a significantly lower cost of ownership as compared to PET/CT modalities and does not need additional space for electronics. It has a much smaller footprint, fewer boards, easier access to the detector modules, less power consumption, and automated tuning features. The product can easily integrate into practices of all sizes. The table limit was increased to 204 kg, permitting larger patients to be imaged. The table is also capable of loading patients from the front or back, improving the position options for imaging.

Furthermore, Positron's cardiac PET scanner is one of the highest two-dimensional (2D) sensitivity systems on the market today. It features more uniformity achieved in its slice sensitivity, consistency in the quantitation from slice-to-slice, and the ability to define more accurately the locale of a lesion or perfusion defect. The system is designed to provide concurrent acquisition, reconstruction, image processing, and display, as well as other functions such as data archiving, without interference. The Attrius includes many key features in its design: uniform spatial resolution in all three planes; true dynamic and gated 82Rb acquisition capability; and a unique staggered detector design for optimal quantitative results.

The Attrius also includes a cardiac-specific, imaging software package designed to ensure effortless interpretation for today's most challenging clinical cases for nuclear cardiologists who value high quality PET imagery at an affordable price. Additional features include heart disease specific software including the ability to monitor therapy, coronary artery overlay display, open architecture for new protocol development, and customization and motion correction software.

"With the introduction of Positron's Attrius cardiac PET scanner, the issues surrounding sensitivity of PET imaging like size of detector, distance from patient, detector encoding scheme, parallelism of the electronics, and packing fraction are greatly reduced,” stated Frost & Sullivan research analyst Prasanna Kannan. "The Positron Attrius scanner's design is optimized for cardiac imaging with a large list mode memory buffer allowing for concurrent flow, perfusion, and dynamic function imaging. It does not need the use of CT unlike other expensive PET/CT market offerings.”

Based on its recent analysis of the cardiac molecular imaging systems market, Frost & Sullivan (Palo Alto, CA, USA), an international consultancy company, recognized Positron with the 2010 North American Award for New Product Innovation, for its pioneering cardiac PET scanner.

Frost & Sullivan's Best Practices Awards recognize companies for demonstrating outstanding achievement and superior performance in areas such as leadership, technological innovation, customer service, and strategic product development.

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