GE Showcases New Technology to Help Assess Earlier Cancer Treatment Response

June 15, 2012 — At the Society of Nuclear Medicine (SNM) 2012, GE Healthcare showcased Q.Suite on both the new Discovery PET/CT 710 and Discovery PET/CT 610 products.  Q.Suite is a collection of next-generation capabilities designed to further quantitative positron emission tomography (PET) by generating more consistent standardized uptake value (SUV) readings — enabling clinicians to assess treatment response accurately, allowing oncologists to modify treatment strategies without waiting for physical results. Effective therapy may help improve the patient’s quality of life and overall outcome as well as reduce the cost burden of ineffective treatment technologies.

The use of PET in therapy assessment is already proven and effective.  But by combining the capabilities of Q.Suite with updated clinical practices, we believe the consistency of PET measurements can increase dramatically.  The goal is a more personalized care for all patients.

During the course of cancer treatment, clinicians traditionally gauge progress by looking for physical change in the size of a tumor, typically using computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance (MR). However, with quantitative PET imaging, they are also able to consider a tumor’s metabolic activity. In many cases, metabolic changes in a tumor can be perceived earlier than physical ones, so quantitative PET can give physicians an earlier view of how well a treatment is working.

For quantitative PET to be effective, consistency of SUV measurements between a patient’s baseline scan and subsequent follow-up scans is critical. Variation can occur throughout the PET workflow, in areas from patient management and biology to equipment protocols and performance. Controlling these variables to increase consistency can improve the clinician’s confidence that an SUV change has true clinical meaning.

For more information: www.gehealthcare.com