* New TwinBeam Dual Energy¹ for single-source CT enables simultaneous imaging at two different energy levels
* Dual energy images available for immediate assessment
With the new version of the SOMATOM Definition Edge CT system, which debuts at the 100th Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA), Nov. 30-Dec. 5 in Chicago, Siemens Healthcare will establish the benchmark for acquiring single-source dual energy images in clinical routine. The innovative TwinBeam Dual Energy X-ray tube concept of the relaunched SOMATOM Definition Edge enables simultaneous imaging at two different energy levels for the first time in single-source computed tomography (CT).
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In dual energy imaging, the same region of the body is examined using two different energy levels. The resulting two datasets offer more detailed information about tissue composition that extends beyond pure morphology. However, in cases where data have been acquired using fast kV-switching or dual layer detector technology, dual energy imaging has had significant drawbacks. In the past, single-source dual energy images acquired with these methods were excluded from routine clinical use because the X-ray tube did not emit the two energy spectra simultaneously, but rather in succession through rapid switching or spectral separation at the detector side. With kV-switching, the segmentation of the measuring points impairs image quality significantly due to the limited data per energy level. Also, increased X-ray doses are inevitable because the dose cannot be modulated to reduce radiation.
Beam split into two energy spectrums
The innovative tube design of Siemens' new TwinBeam Dual Energy technology featured in the relaunched SOMATOM Definition Edge splits the X-ray beam into two different energy spectra prior to reaching the patient. The result: simultaneous generation of dual energy images. "With this technology, we are laying the groundwork for dual energy imaging in single-source computed tomography to be used in routine procedure," says Walter Mä[<00E4>][<00E4>]rzendorfer, CEO for Computed Tomography and Radiation Oncology at Siemens Healthcare.
Siemens' approach to dual energy imaging technology in general offers tissue characterization that could be applicable in clinical situations like the evaluation of kidney stones to differentiate between uric acid and non-uric acid stones, which provides additional diagnostic information. Another example: When examining liver lesions, the material information contained in the dual energy imaging acquisition can indicate liver lesions, with information that is based on the determination of contrast uptake in the tumor (Iodine Maps).
