Profound impact in many clinical fields

The clinical fields of cardiac imaging, oncology, and pulmonology all have their own unique demands of medical images. In cardiac imaging, it is capturing the heart while moving, which therefore requires speed. The NAEOTOM Alpha delivers speed thanks to its Dual Source design and benefits from spectral information and high resolution for removing obstructions caused by calcifications. This enables diagnostic assessment and allows more patients to benefit from CT imaging—even those with a high calcium burden.


The high precision offered by the NAEOTOM Alpha is also highly beneficial in oncology, where reliable and consistent evaluation of disease progress is the most important factor. Therefore, clinical images need to be as conclusive and consistent as possible to make the right decisions. In pulmonology, images need to contain all meaningful answers in as few scans as possible to avoid treatment delays and potentially severe consequences for patients. These needs are met and often exceeded by the NAEOTOM Alpha's features. Its clinical images inherently carry more information than ever possible before for precise diagnosis, follow-up, and treatment.

Expanding CT's role in clinical decision-making

The implications of this innovation from Siemens Healthineers are far-reaching for patients and physicians, and may profoundly change the way that CT imaging is performed: It adds clinical value for fast, reliable diagnoses by the physician by improving image quality, potentially leading to less uncertainty for physicians and patients. The new technology helps in almost every clinical field, but especially when fine structures have to be evaluated. Customer feedback from testing with actual final systems confirms that ambition. "We have been working with our own NAEOTOM Alpha CT since April 2021 and are very impressed by initial results," said Professor Thomas Kröncke, MD, Head of the Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University Hospital Augsburg, Germany1. "In oncology, we can break down more precisely which tumor types we are dealing with and thus treat them in a more targeted and effective way. It is like a veil that is now lifting. The new technology is a radical improvement on previous imaging. This will redefine our clinical decision-making right from scan one."

In over 15 years of research into photon-counting CT imaging, Siemens Healthineers has filed over 500 patents related to this technology and collaborated closely with clinical partners to test and validate the clinical capabilities and use cases. Six prototypes have been evaluated and improved on over the years. In 2021, the company presents the world's first CT scanner with the new technology, released for clinical use. More than 20 systems have already been installed and are used in clinical routine. So far, over 8,000 patients have been scanned. With a rotation speed of 250 milliseconds and two X-ray tubes and detectors (Dual Source), the NAEOTOM Alpha is not only the first photon-counting CT system on the market but is also a very powerful, fast, and precise CT scanner.

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