- University Medical Center Groningen acquires scanner, which brings new level of precision to PET/CT
Siemens Healthineers has announced that University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG) in the Netherlands has become the first health care institution worldwide to complete installation of the new Biograph Vision positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) system.
“University Medical Center Groningen is proud to acquire the world’s first commercially available Biograph Vision PET/CT system,” said Prof. Rudi Dierckx, MD, PhD, MBA, Department Head, University Medical Center Groningen. “The system’s exceptional time-of-flight speed and spatial resolution have the potential to help us improve the detection of disease in patients. Additionally, the large bore will help to provide better comfort and positioning for our patients. Also, we are excited about the Biograph Vision’s parametric imaging capabilities.”1
“Siemens Healthineers is honored to provide UMCG with the Biograph Vision, which brings PET to an unprecedented level of precision and performance,” said James Williams, PhD, head of Siemens Healthineers Molecular Imaging. “We look forward to working together to elevate the quality of patient care.”
The Biograph Vision provides a new level of precision in PET/CT imaging. Its new Optiso Ultra Dynamic Range (UDR) Detector Technology, which is based on silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) rather than photomultiplier tubes (PMTs), delivers lutetium oxyorthosilicate (LSO) crystal elements of just 3.2 x 3.2 mm for higher spatial resolution. The system also has the industry’s fastest time-of-flight, with a temporal resolution of just 214 picoseconds, as well as the highest effective sensitivity at 100 cps/kBq.2 For these reasons, the Biograph Vision helps to reduce scan time by a factor of 3.9 to improve patient throughput as well as reduce patient radiation exposure and tracer cost. And the system’s 78 cm bore enables improved patient comfort and positioning as well as advanced applications in radiation therapy planning.
Additionally, the Biograph Vision offers optional features to improve the quality of patient care. FlowMotion Multiparametric Suite delivers images of standard uptake volume (SUV), metabolic glucose rate, and distribution volume. OncoFreeze and CardioFreeze provide PET/CT images that are virtually free of motion in the same period as a regular whole-body scan.
Having recently earned CE Mark designation, the Biograph Vision is now commercially available in Europe and other global locations.