by
Brendon Nafziger, DOTmed News Associate Editor | December 17, 2009
Rolling out this quarter, the 3rd generation system already has over 200 installs, says Smith.
(Watch the video to check out their 3-D slide projector, called Augmented Reality, which Smith used to demo their products.)
Better spatial resolution in CT
Also up on Philips' plate: BrightView XCT, a SPECT/CT scanner with 50 percent better spatial resolution, according to Philips.
"SPECT gives us functional data, and what CT brings is the spatial resolution data," says Smith. "You combine the two together, you get hybrid imaging, the best of both worlds."
Using flat panel technology to acquire full heart volume in one rotation, the XCT offers a small footprint (it can snuggle into a 15' 6" by 12' sized room), as well as high-resolution imaging down to 0.33 millimeters.
"The XCT offers 18 centimeters of coverage at high resolution. It's twice as good as a traditional CT today," Smith says.
And despite a still-sluggish economy for capital purchases, it's doing well right out of the gate. According to Philips, there were around 100 orders and 41 installations over the last four months.
Lowering the dose, brightening the room
Rounding out Philips' entries are two products reflecting major trends at this year's RSNA: lowering radiation exposure from imaging studies, and making the imaging process more patient-friendly.
Philips' entry in the field of radiation dose-lowering is iDose, technology Philips expects to ship with its flagship CT solution Brilliance CT by the second half of next year. "It's a reconstruction technique to reduce the dose by 80 percent, particularly in the body, where you have a lot of high organ dose," Smith explains.
And Philips hopes this safer imaging will happen in cheerier rooms, courtesy of their Ambient Experience (DM 5506). This is a workspace solution integrating architecture, design and technology to make imaging suites more welcoming, and patients more relaxed.
While it sounds touchy-feely, this approach, already in place at about 125 hospitals worldwide, can have real clinical benefits - especially for children. According to a study in the Journal of Radiology Nursing that Philips shared with reporters, outfitting a CT suite with the Ambient Experience at the Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, Ill. lowered sedation rates in children by 16 to 28 percent. Not only did this help reduce the risks from sedation, it also sped up procedure time, allowing the hospital to schedule four times as many patients each day.
Also important, perhaps, the kids seemed to like it. "Our kids are telling other kids, 'go to Advocate Lutheran and you'll see a light show,'" a doctor from Advocate Lutheran is quoted as saying in a Philips press release. "We couldn't ask for a better measure of success."
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