New CT Technology Platform Reduces Dose, Improves Patient Care

December 13, 2010 – A new technology platform for computed tomography (CT) scanners can help hospital staffs perform CT examinations faster and more efficiently, as well as keep the dose as low as possible.

The Fast Care applications simplify workflows during scanning and in the preparation of image reconstructions. Patients benefit from lower radiation doses and shorter examination times, as the system automates many operating procedures, suggests parameter settings for image quality and dose reduction and standardizes processes, which makes results readily reproducible. These enhancements help CT operators and service providers improve their productivity and improve consistency of image quality and dose level.

Fast Care will be available on Siemens Somatom Definition AS scanners in March 2011 and on the Somatom Definition Flash scanners in May 2011. CT scanners from the SOMATOM Definition product family that are already on the market can be upgraded to the new platform. The Fast Care platform will be available on all Definition AS configurations, from entry-level 20-slice to a premium 128-slice AS+. The 64-slice Somatom Definition AS with Fast Care will be field-upgradeable to AS+ Fast Care, making it the only upgradeable 64-slice scanner on the market.

Two of the current needs in CT for which Fast Care was developed are optimization of the processes relating to patient diagnostic examinations and reduction of the dose necessary for such examinations. Therefore, the new technology platform’s applications focus on two aspects: Fully Assisting Scanner Technologies (FAST) support process optimization and Combined Applications to Reduce Exposure (CARE) assist with dose reduction.

A key feature is that the anatomy of the individual patient is automatically taken into account:
• Fast Planning delivers standardized, anatomical landmark-based determination of the correct scan and reconstruction areas.
• Fast Cardio Wizard offers step-by-step instructions in the user interface to help operators gain practice in the complex preparations for cardiac examinations.
• Fast Scan Assistant and Fast Adjust support the selection of the appropriate parameters for performing CT examinations with the best possible image quality at lowest dose.
• Fast Spine helps reduce the manual steps of preparing for spine reconstructions, resulting in considerable time savings. This is particularly relevant in spine trauma patients and can enhance the clinical outcome of interventions.

For more information: www.siemens.com/healthcare