HI-TECH: The latest medical imaging solutions from Royal Philips will bring enhanced care and improved outcomes for patients, writes Chandra Devi Renganayar
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| The Vereos PET/CT |
According to the company, the solutions -- Vereos PET/CT and IQon Spectral CT system -- were set to transform the way doctors fight diseases and save lives.
Diego Olego, Philips' chief strategy and innovation officer, said the company was able to develop the state-of-the-art imaging solutions through many years of collaboration with clinicians and researchers.
However, the heart of its healthcare innovation was not just about technology. It combines human insights and clinical expertise to bring innovation that delivers better healthcare outcomes at a lower cost.
It takes into consideration the challenges facing patients, doctors and the healthcare systems, he said.
Arjen Radder, president, Asia Pacific, of Philips Healthcare, said innovation had become the key in addressing growing challenges faced by the healthcare industry.
"This is critical, especially with increasing costs, aging populations and the need to provide access to quality healthcare.
"Asia, for instance, will be home to half of the world's elderly population and bear half of the global burden of chronic conditions by 2030, resulting in a staggering number of people requiring care.
"With cutting edge technology that increases the efficacy of disease diagnosis and therapy, patient outcomes and access to care are improved, thereby reducing long-term healthcare costs. Through our innovations, we aim to help health systems address the growing challenges."
Olego said the new medical imaging systems were developed to enable earlier disease detection with less invasive procedures, reducing the risk of complications and the length of hospital stays, ultimately saving healthcare costs and improving patient outcomes.
The Vereos PET/CT
The Vereos, based on Philips' proprietary Digital Photon Counting technology, is the first positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) imaging system in the industry to use digital silicon photomultiplier detectors instead of traditional analog detectors. Advantages of this technique, according to the company, include a two-times increase in sensitivity gain, volumetric resolution and quantitative accuracy compared with analog systems.
What this means is that the new PET/CT scan will provide radical improvements in three-dimensional images that provide better insight into what is happening inside the body at the molecular and cellular level. With high image quality, there would be increased diagnostic confidence and improved treatment planning for patients.
IQon Spectral CT system
The IQon Spectral CT system is the world's first spectral detector CT system built from the ground up for spectral imaging. At the heart of this system is a new spectral detector that can differentiate between X-ray photons of multiple high and low energies simultaneously.
In a single scan, radiologists will be able to obtain not only anatomical information, but also details about the composition of the scanned image. It introduces colour as a way of identifying the composition of an image.
After a spectral CT examination, clinicians can interpret the conventional grey-scale anatomical images and, if necessary, access the spectral information acquired during the same scan. There is no need to determine beforehand whether this information is actually needed, as it can be accessed at any time. For patients, this means, they no longer have to go through another scanning procedure if the doctors need more information.
The radiation dose is not increased as well. The IQon Spectral CT system incorporates the Philips' iPatient platform, to provide retrospective on-demand data analysis to enable doctors to experience the benefits of spectral CT routinely within traditional radiology workflows.
CT imaging is used in the diagnosis of many diseases and injuries, totalling 450 million imaging procedures globally per year.
http://www.nst.com.my/nation/general/driving-innovation-in-medical-imaging-1.432842
