Three years after the launch of the world’s first photon-counting CT scanner NAEOTOM Alpha, Siemens Healthineers introduces the NAEOTOM Alpha class including a second dual source scanner, NAEOTOM Alpha.Pro1, as well as the world’s first single source scanner with photon-counting technology, NAEOTOM Alpha.Prime1. Since 2021, NAEOTOM Alpha has been the only commercially available system with this technology available for clinical use, and more than a million patients have already been scanned worldwide. It will remain part of a new class of photon-counting CT scanners as NAEOTOM Alpha.Peak.
“With the launch of the NAEOTOM Alpha class, we deliver on our promise to make the powerful photon-counting technology accessible to more clinicians and patients,” states Carl Smith, CT Business Manager at Siemens Healthineers Great Britain & Ireland. “We experience how photon-counting CT impacts clinical decision making and we are convinced that this technology determines the future of CT imaging. Now, we are taking a major step into the future with the introduction of the NAEOTOM Alpha class, extending photon-counting technology further across our portfolio.”
Photon-counting CT enables the acquisition of more detailed images with anatomical and functional information by “counting” each individual X-ray photon that passes through patients. At lower doses, clinicians can detect and evaluate small structures precisely and with fewer artifacts, maximising the diagnostic information and accuracy for fast decision-making and optimised imaging workflows. Siemens Healthineers is currently investing €80 million to expand photon-counting detector production in Forchheim, Germany.
NAEOTOM Alpha.Peak will be the high-end model of the new product series with the fast scan time of 737 mm/sec (millimetres per second), making it the preferred system for radiologists who continue to demand high clinical performance. All NAEOTOM Alpha class systems will use the Quantum HD resolution feature to display anatomical details in high resolution at a slice thickness of 0.2 mm. Thus, without increasing the dose, small abnormalities become visible.
NAEOTOM Alpha.Pro combines the precision of photon-counting with the speed of dual source CT, resulting in scan times as fast as 491 mm/sec. Demanding examinations can be performed for example in pulmonology, with patients needing to hold their breath for less time; in cardiology, with scans at high heart rates without beta-blockers; and in paediatrics, where children can be scanned without sedation. This not only improves clinical workflows, but also the patient experience. Spectral performance is important for complex tasks such as the automatic analysis and evaluation of highly calcified coronary arteries and time-critical treatments, such as trauma or stroke. NAEOTOM Alpha.Pro is therefore suitable for institutions catering to patients with these needs and as a centrally-located high-performance scanner for complex cases at the core of hub-and-spoke networks, which can use other scanners in the periphery for routine exams.
NAEOTOM Alpha.Prime is the world’s first single source photon-counting CT for use as a high-performance scanner for in-patient, ambulatory, and emergency room examinations in stand-alone institutions and big IDNs (Integrated Delivery Networks), or also in the periphery of hub-and-spoke networks. Precise diagnostic imaging with photon-counting CT as a new benchmark in future patient care will thus be available for the first time for facilities without specific needs for dual-source technology. Like all NAEOTOM Alpha class models, NAEOTOM Alpha.Prime accelerates diagnostic and interventional processes with the support of artificial intelligence and automation: myExam Companion guides users through various steps of the examination – from system and patient preparation to image acquisition and reconstruction, as well as evaluation and post-processing. This enables departments to quickly and easily achieve consistent results, regardless of patient group, procedure, or experience.
So far, more than one million patients worldwide have been scanned with photon-counting CT from Siemens Healthineers, enabling new patient care pathways and paving the way for future expansion of the technology. “With our NAEOTOM Alpha, we can confidently rule out obstructive coronary artery disease in a greater number of heart patients, particularly those with highly calcified coronaries, eliminating the need for invasive diagnostic procedures in the cath lab. This creates more efficient patient pathways and significantly reduces the time from diagnosis to the initiation of treatment,”2 states Pál Maurovich-Horvat, MD, Chair of Radiology at Semmelweis University Hospital in Budapest, and adds: “Photon-counting computed tomography will replace conventional CT examinations in the medium term. We have now expanded our fleet with a single source photon-counting scanner in the emergency department to offer its benefits to our acute care patients as well.”2