World's First High-Definition CT Scanner Provides Greater Detail of the Heart

Engineers discovered that by altering the molecular structure of real garnets they could develop a computed tomography (CT) scintillator capable of providing images 100 times faster, with up to 33% greater detail through the body and up to 47% greater detail in the heart.

GE Healthcare (Chalfont St. Giles, UK), a global leader in imaging and in dose-reduction technologies, has announced U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) clearance of the LightSpeed CT750 HD, the world's first high-definition CT scanner. The scanner should set a new standard for CT clarity, delivering the tools to allow clinicians to diagnose rapidly and effectively.

GE engineers had recently developed the GE Gemstone Detector, increasing the fastest primary speed in the CT industry, and the driving force of the first of its kind Gemstone Spectral Imaging process. Gemstone Spectral Imaging uses up to 2,496 views per rotation (a 2.5x increase) to provide improved spatial resolution and improved image quality across the entire field of view. Dual energy fast kV switching registers energies at least 165 times faster than Dual Source CT at a 0.33-second rotating speed. It offers 128 slices of unique data per rotation and 101 user selectable energy levels for viewing. In essence, it brings faster, clearer images into current demanding healthcare environment without sacrificing the element patients and clinicians demand most: radiation dose reduction. Though the laws of physics typically demand an increase in dose for each increase in image quality, GE Healthcare has engineered an exception. The scanner improves image quality while reducing dose by up to 50% across the entire body and by as much as 83% for cardiac scans.

In addition to providing fine detail, allowing clinicians to see objects as small as a grain of sand, CT750 HD's improved spatial resolution allows it to reduce calcium-blooming artifacts. Because of this, accurate stenosis quantification is possible. In bench testing, it was able to accurately measure 75% stenosis on a 3-mm vessel within 100 microns. It also benefits from improved low contrast detection (LCD), a measure of the amount of contrast needed to image a given object at a given dose. CT750 HD bench tested with a 40% LCD improvement over the previous release.

"This is a game changer,” said Gene Saragnese, vice president and general manager of GE Healthcare's Global CT and Molecular Imaging businesses. "We are delivering the customer-driven future of CT and we couldn't be prouder of the product their feedback has created. Our customers told us they wanted to look at an image and not just see more but see more detail. The LightSpeed CT750 HD gives them those tools and more, with less dose than ever before, bringing us right to the edge of early health, our vision here at GE Healthcare. It's now up to us to take this technological leap and move into the future.”


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