Dual Source CT System

The Somatom Definition CT system, developed by Siemens Medical Solutions (Erlangen, Germany), is faster than a beating heart and capable of imaging full cardiac detail with as much as 50% less radiation exposure than conventional CT scans. The system can image patients with high or irregular heart rates, or even arrhythmia, without beta blocker medications that have been previously required to slow a patient's heart. The system also enables clinicians to better identify and characterize plaque, an early indicator of heart disease.

This new CT innovation is a suitable tool for one-stop diagnosis in acute care imaging, including the assessment of patients with acute chest pain, abdominal pain, and suspicion of stroke. The system enables more rapid and earlier diagnosis in acute care patients while maintaining high image quality, independent of patient size and condition. The system can scan with two different x-ray energies simultaneously, which allow clinicians to better differentiate, isolate, characterize, and distinguish bone, soft tissue and fluid.

"Siemens has long been committed to creating products that will shape the future of healthcare. With today's announcement, we are truly redefining what CT can do and are setting a new benchmark for the industry to follow,” said Erich Reinhardt, president and chief executive officer, Siemens Medical Solutions.

The system is faster than any existing CT technology. The dual source CT system uses two x-ray sources and two detectors at the same time, compared to all other CT systems that use only one source and detector. With 0.33 seconds per rotation, electrocardiogram- (ECG) synchronized imaging can be performed with 83-millisecond temporal resolution, independent of the heart rate, resulting in motion-free cardiac images.




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