Computed Tomography System Can Acquire 16 Slices

This new Infinite Detector technology can be installed on Marconi's Mx8000 CT scanner. It covers more than four centimeters of patient anatomy in one second, more than 12 times faster than the current generation of quad multislice CT scanners. The technology always acquires thin slices. The unprecedented image quality resulting from thin slices benefits every scanning protocol from whole organ isotropic imaging to extended whole body polytrauma surveys, says Marconi. Moreover, the system is fast enough to be used for cardiac vascular imaging, where its acquisition rate will make thin-slice, whole-heart coverage available in mere seconds.

The Infinite Detector is based on Tach technology, a tiny application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) chip, which transfers data from the detector array at a revolutionary gigabyte-per-second rate. It directly converts the detector signal to a digital data stream and virtually eliminates noise introduced by conventional analog electronics, decreasing dose requirement and improving image quality.

"Because the Mx8000 CT scanner incorporating the breakthrough Infinite Detector technology is fast enough to be dedicated to cardiac imaging, we believe it could largely replace invasive diagnostic coronary artery catheterization procedures with noninvasive CT scanning,” said Jerry C. Cirino, executive vice president of Marconi.



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