From the September 2017 issue of HealthCare Business News magazine


In April, Siemens received FDA clearance for its lower cost of ownership SOMATOM go. CT platform, which includes the SOMATOM go.Now and SOMATOM go.Up CT systems. It was designed as a single-room concept so facilities can save on installation costs and it has a smaller footprint compared to the company’s other CT platforms.

It’s primarily for routine CT work including head, chest, abdomen and pelvic exams, which make up 50 to 60 percent of CT exams. It’s ideal for community hospitals, critical access hospitals as well as outpatient imaging centers.


Siemens reported that the first few installations were underway in July and the company predicted that by the end of August approximately five would be installed in the U.S.

Personalized imaging for RT planning
The invention of CT played a crucial role in the development of radiation therapy planning. Other modalities like MR and PET are used secondarily in the treatment planning process, but CT remains the only 3-D imaging modality used for dose calculation, according to an article published in the journal BioMed Research International.

The newest CT simulator for radiation therapy to hit the market was Siemens' SOMATOM Confidence RT Pro CT system in December. Standard radiation therapy is built on 120 kV CT images, but this system can image patients at any kV setting.

“On the imaging side, it remains as a one-size-fits-all approach," says Hanno Dotzel, vice president of radiation oncology at Siemens. "The SOMATOM Confidence RT Pro in that regard is a game-changer because it allows for an image acquisition that is optimized for the individual size and anatomy of the patient."

The system's DirectDensity technology enables the technologist to optimize the scanner based on each individual patient, including bariatric patients and children.

“In radiology you would always optimize the scanner so you could get the best possible image quality, but in radiation oncology, there was always this workflow hurdle because for the dosimetry workflow, you need to have a calibration curve to tell you the electronic density," says Dotzel.

The SOMATOM Confidence RT Pro allows the technologists to freely choose a scan parameter without having to worry about the dosimetry workflow. That's because it's equipped with a technology that ensures they get the necessary information regardless of the kV settings.

Philips was the first to the CT simulator market with its Philips CT Big Bore scanner. GE followed with its Discover RT CT system, which was introduced at the American Society for Radiation Oncology meeting in November 2015.

September 2017 Magazine

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