Malvern, Pa. - Siemens Healthcare has announced the expansion of its Low-Dose Centers of Excellence program for computed tomography (CT). Four healthcare institutions now collaborate with Siemens in the development of best-in-class clinical processes and protocols that reduce patient CT radiation dose, benefit patient outcomes, and optimize clinical operations.

Low-Dose Centers of Excellence represent leading healthcare facilities that are pioneering radiation dose reduction in CT. Launched exclusively by Siemens in 2010, the CT Low-Dose Centers of Excellence program is the gold standard for academic-industry partnerships. Patient care is the core commitment of Siemens' CT Low-Dose Centers of Excellence program, and Siemens works with its luminary customers in divergent clinical settings to create best industry practices to continue development of this important mission and achieve best-in-class outcomes. Elkhart (Ind.) General Hospital, the most recent healthcare institution to have signed the Centers of Excellence framework agreement, joins Anne Arundel Medical Center, Annapolis, Md.; Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center, Richmond; and University of Minnesota Medical Center, Fairview.

"University of Minnesota Medical Center, Fairview continues to benefit from our ongoing collaboration with Siemens in the area of patient dose reduction, enabling us to reduce CT dose by more than 30 percent," said Uma S. Valeti, MD, FACC, associate professor of medicine and director of cardiovascular imaging. "Our collaboration with Siemens has allowed us to balance patient needs with access to cutting-edge technology and procedures to deliver optimal patient outcomes."
"The Siemens Centers of Excellence program is the original blueprint for developing collaborations for radiation dose reduction benchmarks, and Siemens is proud to partner with institutions on their journey of low-dose CT imaging," said Kulin Hemani, U.S. vice president of CT, Siemens Healthcare. "Our goal is to provide higher education to help all of our customers enhance workflow, provide positive patient outcomes, and benefit from our innovative dose reduction technology for years to come."

Siemens CT is the industry's recognized low-dose leader, according to the KLAS "CT 2011: Focused on Dose" report. Accordingly, Siemens applies its CARE - Combined Applications to Reduce Exposure - comprehensive approach to all areas of diagnostic and interventional imaging. Consistently introducing dose reduction innovations since 1994 and adhering to the CARE research and development philosophy, Siemens has continually integrated innovations into its CT scanners that significantly reduce radiation exposure in comparison to other systems on the market.

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