Toshiba shows its powerful new multislice CT, touts install
Toshiba America Medical Systems Inc. (TAMS) demonstrated its Aquilion LB large bore, multislice computed tomography (CT) scanner at the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ASTRO) annual meeting in Denver, Co. this week. The system was recently granted FDA approval for marketing and has been installed in its first site.
The Aquilion LB is built to allow for accurate scanning of patients of nearly any size and in an assortment of scanning positions for CT simulation, bariatric exams and interventional procedures. To this end, Toshiba demonstrated how positioning breast cancer patients, for example, in ways previously considered very challenging can be accomplished with relative ease. The company believes that the targeted features of the new large bore CT simulator will help oncologists in the optimization of treatment planning anywhere in the body.
The system includes a 90cm bore -- which is the biggest on the market, said Michael MacLeod, product manager, CT Oncology, TAMS. The system also includes a scanning field of view of 70cm, a combination with the large bore that does not limit what a therapist is able to accomplish and allows for use of the full capacity of CT, MacLeod added.
By providing an acquired field of view of 70cm without extrapolation, the scanner is able to provide an extended field of view (essentially an "educated guess") of 85cm which is beyond the capability of most other CT scanners and provides high quality for all exams, said MacLeod.
Other key features of the Aquilion AB include:
According to Edward J. Holupka, MD, director of physics at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, the Aquilion LB overcomes one of the chief challenges faced in oncology: repeatable patient positioning. "When imaging cancer patients a primary concern is optimizing cancer treatment planning and improving outcomes. Therefore, it's paramount we have the technology required to accurately obtain the information we need, regardless of patient positioning or size issues."
The Aquilion LB is built to allow for accurate scanning of patients of nearly any size and in an assortment of scanning positions for CT simulation, bariatric exams and interventional procedures. To this end, Toshiba demonstrated how positioning breast cancer patients, for example, in ways previously considered very challenging can be accomplished with relative ease. The company believes that the targeted features of the new large bore CT simulator will help oncologists in the optimization of treatment planning anywhere in the body.
The system includes a 90cm bore -- which is the biggest on the market, said Michael MacLeod, product manager, CT Oncology, TAMS. The system also includes a scanning field of view of 70cm, a combination with the large bore that does not limit what a therapist is able to accomplish and allows for use of the full capacity of CT, MacLeod added.
By providing an acquired field of view of 70cm without extrapolation, the scanner is able to provide an extended field of view (essentially an "educated guess") of 85cm which is beyond the capability of most other CT scanners and provides high quality for all exams, said MacLeod.
Other key features of the Aquilion AB include:
- SUREFluoro real-time CT fluoroscopy which tracks biopsy needle movement without delay;
- Providing visualization of acquired images at 12 frames-per-second;
- Ability to position almost any patient on a breast board with both arms up and the board tilted to its maximum 25 degrees;
- Designed to support new oncology applications such as respiratory gating and CT fluoro;
- 32mm detector length along the patient axis to boost the quality of coverage per rotation;
- 16 0.5mm slices with each 0.5 second gantry revolution yield for fine image detail;
- Patient couch that allows scans up to 1.8 meters; and
- The MegaCool x-ray tube diminishes tube cooling delays.
According to Edward J. Holupka, MD, director of physics at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, the Aquilion LB overcomes one of the chief challenges faced in oncology: repeatable patient positioning. "When imaging cancer patients a primary concern is optimizing cancer treatment planning and improving outcomes. Therefore, it's paramount we have the technology required to accurately obtain the information we need, regardless of patient positioning or size issues."