Leveraging the Innovation of GE's LightSpeed VCT to Further Enhance Cardiac Imaging

GE originally designed the LightSpeed VCT, the world's first volume CT system introduced in 2004, to easily integrate with its PET technology. GE recently announced the 500th installation of the LightSpeed VCT making it the fastest selling product in the company's history. GE was the first company to introduce volumetric CT scanning, the ability to combine record-breaking acquisition speed and high-resolution capabilities in a single CT system.


"Developing the world's only volumetric, 64-slice PET/CT is a logical extension of our success with the LightSpeed VCT," said Gene Saragnese vice president and general manager of GE Healthcare's global Molecular Imaging and CT business.

The LightSpeed VCT is able to noninvasively capture images of the heart and coronary arteries in fewer than five heartbeats - something no other CT system can offer. In a single rotation, the system creates 64 credit-card-thin images, totaling 40 millimeters of anatomical coverage. These images are combined to form a three-dimensional view of the patient's anatomy for the physician to analyze.

"The Discovery VCT, like the LightSpeed VCT, was built for physicians based on their clinical needs, from the ground up," said Saragnese. "The speed and resolution of the LightSpeed VCT combined with the functional capabilities of PET will keep GE at the forefront of diagnostic cardiovascular care."

GE the Industry Leader in Cardiac PET/CT

GE's flagship Discovery PET/CT system is the cardiac PET/CT market leader, providing physicians with anatomical and physiological information and improving diagnostic confidence when assessing coronary artery disease and cardiac viability. GE has invested more than $160 million in the research and development of hybrid imaging technology and holds 25 related patents.

The company first began its work combining images with the development of the GE Millennium VG Hawkeye SPECT/CT system in 1999, and launched the first commercially available PET/CT, the Discovery LS, in 2001.


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