From the October 2015 issue of HealthCare Business News magazine
 
Undoubtedly, another hot trend in CT has been dual-energy (DE) acquisition. While DE, like the 16-slice scanner, isn’t new — Siemens pioneered the DE concept in 2005 with our dual-source CT systems — wider adoption of DE has been historically hampered by lack of availability (in many cases, this was limited to high-end scanners only) and issues pertaining to a cumbersome workflow. That’s unfortunate, as DE has many clinical advantages, particularly in abdominal imaging, where diagnosing liver lesions can be difficult.
 
With DE, only one study is performed, but a wealth of information can be generated. For example, a virtual unenhanced data set (simulating a non-contrast study) can be acquired, and iodine maps can be overlaid onto the image to look at the enhancement patterns. Responding to growing interest in DE, Siemens now makes DE available not only at the high end of our portfolio but also on many of our new CT scanners, including 16-slice systems.
 





As health care facilities look to their fleets of CT scanners, they must expand their focus beyond today’s needs to identify solutions that will deliver the clinical functionalities and ease of access that future patients and physicians will demand. Sometimes, they may even find that the best solutions take their cue from new approaches to previously introduced innovations. But by expanding their focus, they won’t find themselves regretting the purchasing decisions they’ve made five years hence. Instead, they’ll radiate a professional confidence that stems from knowing that they chose the best value at the time — with the right capabilities to ensure years of valuable clinical use.

Murat Gungor is Vice President, CT Business Line, Siemens Healthcare

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