Siemens Healthineers celebrated the 25 year presence of the European Congress of Radiology last week in Vienna with the unveiling of its Artis icono biplane angiography system.

Designed for stroke-related and other neuroradiology procedures, the solution enhances image quality and reduces radiation dose with its improved 2D and 3D capabilities in a way that diminishes the gap in time between diagnosis and treatment.

“In treating stroke, it’s important to have good diagnosis to exclude bleedings because then you can be sure it is an ischemic stroke rather than a hemorrhagic one. As soon as the bleeding has been excluded, the patient goes into the treatment lab,” Andreas Fischer, vice president of marketing for surgery at Siemens, told HCB News. “With the system’s improved 3D capabilities, bleedings can be excluded directly in the lab, preventing the patient from having to make a detour into the diagnostic imaging department and instead go into the treatment lab right away while undergoing a 3D examination.”

The idea for such a scanner stems from a number of studies supporting the extension of thrombectomy to ischemic stroke patients who previously were deemed ineligible to undergo it. The aim is to overcome the challenge of treating this increased throughput of patients, with greater accuracy.

To do so, the system utilizes Syngo DynaCT Sine Spin, a functionality that can better detect bleeding throughout the brain by reducing artifacts within the cranium and cranial base. In applying its Syngo DynaCT Multiphase feature, the device can acquire time-resolved DynaCT volumes at eight different points in time over a 50-second period to identify areas of the brain with reduced blood flow or delays in the flow of contrast agents, and assess collateral vessels to determine the most appropriate treatment.

The result is the production of CT-like images that are less likely to be impacted by the movement of artifacts in low-contrast 3D imaging times from 20 seconds to as low as eight, depending on its respective application.

An additional advantage of Syngo DynaCT Sine Spin is its ability to switch seamlessly between 2D biplanar imaging and 3D imaging without moving the lateral plane into park positioning, speeding up workflow and making it easier to use 3D imaging for intraprocedural progress assessments.

Further enhancing workflow is the incorporation of Case Flows, which optimize imaging parameters, system positions and display layouts for specific exams, and provide flexibility in the execution of sequences by adapting to the individual user’s needs. Such tools can be used across multiple Artis icono labs for standardized procedure applications.

The scanner is also equipped with new OPTIQ image chain technology, which relies on a number of functionalities to enable 2D imaging across a wide range of angles and patient weights while saving on dose.

“You can just choose the material and the system finds the right setting in accordance with the plane, and visualizes the material in the best way at the lowest possible dose,” said Fischer.

In addition, dose reduction can be found in the functional improvements of the system’s roadmaps, which are subtracted angiography images that make it simpler to navigate the vascular system during fluoroscopic exams.

Artis icono biplane is one of two applications intended to be the first members of the Artis icono portfolio, along with Artis icono floor, a floor-mounted single-plane system designed for vascular and interventional oncology procedures. The two can adapt in their flexibility based on the individual needs of those within interventional radiology, neuroradiology, cardiology and vascular surgery, such as by adjusting the height of the exam table or switching from a cardiological to a radiological configuration in seconds, using the Lateral Plane Switch.

“If you need to have, for a certain procedure, the system in a specific angulation, and you want to have certain protocols for imaging, then the system knows that it has to collimate in a certain way,” said Fischer. “In the past, single clicks were required. Now, one click is needed because the system takes care of setup in the background.”

Artis icono biplane is expected to be available in Europe and other specific markets in 2019, though not in the U.S. Its 510(k) submission is currently underway.