February 16, 2012 — Siemens Healthcare announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently cleared the features associated with the new Biograph mCT positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) scanner. The new Biograph mCT enables precise measurement of metabolic processes and data quantification, including the assessment of neurological disease and cancerous tissue, as well as cardiac blood flow (perfusion). Technological innovations and intelligent software solutions within the new PET/CT result in accurate, consistent quantitative assessments. With the new Biograph mCT, which was unveiled last November at the 2011 annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) in Chicago, Siemens offers yet another paradigm in PET/CT — a goal of its recently announced global initiative, Agenda 2013.
Accuracy and reproducibility in PET quantification enable the physician to more precisely characterize cancer lesions, allowing for better staging and monitoring of changes in activity over time for more accurate assessment of treatment response. The ability to measure absolute myocardial blood flow in cardiology lets the physician to more accurately assess multi-vessel disease. In neurology, noninvasive assessment of the brain can potentially improve the diagnosis and management of patients who present with signs of dementia.
Siemens implemented these clinical requirements in the new Biograph mCT, which supports physicians in treating many neurological, oncological and cardiological diseases through earlier, more precise diagnosis, as well as in therapy planning and precise monitoring of disease progression. With this additional information, physicians are better equipped to make decisions with high certainty and initiate more patient-tailored therapies.
The latest Biograph mCT can provide additional information to aid in the diagnosis of dementia, which affects an estimated 35.6 million people worldwide and may affect as many as 115.4 million people by 2050. Alzheimer’s disease is the most frequently diagnosed form of dementia.
Technical innovations
With conventional technology, clinicians face the issue of variability in quantitative results due to software and hardware challenges. Engineered to overcome these technical and procedural obstacles, the new Biograph mCT offers accurate and reproducible quantification in PET/CT imaging by ensuring optimization of each element of the imaging chain – with an emphasis on the finest volumetric image resolution on the market, daily system calibration, accuracy of attenuation correction using automated co-registration algorithms, and more automated, user-independent and reproducible standardized uptake value (SUV) calculation methods for daily clinical practice.
The new Biograph mCT incorporates Siemens’ unique OptisoHD (High-Definition) Detector System, which features a fine volumetric resolution1 of only 87 mm. It is expected to ship in May 2012.
For more information: www.siemens.com/healthcare
July 30, 2024 
