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  4. The NAEOTOM Alpha class
  5. NAEOTOM Alpha
  6. Cardiovascular imaging with the NAEOTOM Alpha class
Key Visual Siemens Healthineers Quantum Technology showing the face of a middle-aged women, next to the abstract visualization of a photon-counting detector with its precise pulses and the clinical image of a heart in the center of the pulses.

Cardiovascular imaging with the NAEOTOM Alpha classConfidently examine previously excluded patients

Reach more cardiovascular patients with photon-counting CT

Coronary artery disease kills more people each year than any other disease – and the numbers are rising. Non-invasive cardiovascular diagnostic procedures save time and reduce risks, delivering quick results that help stage disease and guide treatment decisions.

The NAEOTOM® Alpha class with Quantum Technology, our new photon-counting CT systems, are delivering highly detailed images at 0.4 or 0.2 mm slice thickness. This visualizes previously undetectable details in the heart without dose penalty. In addition, spectral information is automatically available in every scan with a direct conversion process that turns individual X-ray photons into an electrical signal to create the image.

Quantum Technology enables better diagnostic evaluation of coronary vessels in CT. According to a study, "invasive coronary angiography could have been avoided in 37 of 68 (54%) participants, signifying a potential benefit" of Quantum HD Cardiac.1

Challenging the status quo

Professor Pál Maurovich-Horvat, MD, Head of Medical Imaging Center and chairman of Radiology at Semmelweis University, Hungary, is always striving to utilize cutting-edge technology. Find out how the remarkable images from NAEOTOM Alpha with Quantum Technology have improved his ability to evaluate even the most challenging cardiac cases.

NAEOTOM Alpha.Prime, NAEOTOM Alpha.Pro and NAEOTOM ALpha.Peak are pending 510(k) clearance and are not yet commercially available in the United States and other regions.

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Plaque evaluation05
Stent assessment05
Spectral information02
Clinical image comparison of 0.6 mm and 0.2 mm slice thickness in a Quantum HD Cardiac image, added by a cVRT image.

NAEOTOM Alpha Quantum HD Cardiac images offer a resolution of 0.2 mm slice thickness for coronary plaque assessment.
Courtesy of University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

Clinical image comparison of 0.6 mm and 0.2 mm slice thickness in a Quantum HD Cardiac image, added by a cVRT image.
Clinical image comparison of 0.6 mm and 0.2 mm slice thickness in a Quantum HD Cardiac image, LAD, CX, and RCA view.
Highly detailed clinical cardiovascular images, acquired at low radiation dose with CTA runoff.
Clinical images: Topogram, MPR at 0.6mm slice thickness, MIP, and cVRT of an arm-down TAVI planning.
Clinical images: 0.4mm, cVRT, and Angio-Ansicht visualizing extraordinary detail of coronary vessels with full dose efficiency.
cVRT clinical image and Quantum HD Cardiac images with 0.2 mm slice thickness enable the visualization of coronary stents for the assessment of in-stent restenosis.
Clinical images of a Quantum HD Cardiac assessment of prosthetic valves, VRT, LAD and RCA views.
Quantum HD Cardiac stent imaging with 0.2 mm slice thickness.
MPR and cVRT clinical images with Coronary CTA with 0.4 mm slice thickness: clear evaluation of stent patency and the depiction of atherosclerotic plaque next to the stent.
MIP, curved MPR, and cVRT clinical images visualized aortic stent bypass in high spatial resolution.
Clinical image comparison of reconstruction of LAD with and without Quantum PURE Lumen.
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Ultra-high resolution, no dose penalty

Quantum HD Cardiac images deliver a high level of detail in cardiovascular imaging without compromising the detector’s dose efficiency. This enables better diagnostic evaluation of coronary vessels in CT. And more patients can be evaluated with greater precision than with conventional CT technologies. See for yourself.


Clinical image with a high spatial resolution, showing plaque assessment at 0.2 mm slice thickness.
Courtesy of University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

Overcoming the barrier of calcifications

Examining patients with high calcium score is challenging due to blooming artifacts, affecting stenosis measurement accuracy. The NAEOTOM Alpha class with Quantum Technology overcomes this issue, offering diagnostic images irrespective of calcium score value. Spectral algorithms enable separate calcium and iodine visualization. Quantum PURE Lumen, a dedicated virtual non-calcium algorithm, provides calcium-free images for clear vessel lumen assessment, while Quantum PURE Calcium selectively preserves calcifications, creating virtual non-iodine images that correspond to the information found in non-contrast CT scans like CACS exams.2

Clinical Quantum HD Cardiac image with 0.2 mm slice thickness acquired with NAEOTOM Alpha enables the visualization of coronary stents for the assessment of in-stent restenosis.
Courtesy of Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary

Improved stent assessment

For patients with coronary stents, conventional CT technologies are limited in terms of resolution, and are prone to producing artifacts such as blooming, beam hardening, metal or motion artifacts that prevent a clear assessment of in-stent restenosis. With 0.2 mm slice thickness, Quantum HD Cardiac changes the game for improved visualization of stents to rule out in-stent restenosis.
Clinical image acquired with NAEOTOM Alpha and single heartbeat Turbo Flash coronary angiography below 1mSv.
Courtesy of Dr. Jones & Partners – SAHMRI, Adelaide, Australia

Intrinsic spectral maps

Quantum Technology delivers detailed spectral maps – enabling functional evaluation with high precision. This multi-energy/ multi-parametric imaging is based on the atomic properties of tissues, enabling the potential to use various contrast agents. The extra dimension of information from spectral data paves the way for diagnostic procedures that were previously unthinkable, such as iodine maps, myocardial perfusion, ECV calculation, and late enhancement. The combination of Quantum Technology and Dual Source CT with a temporal resolution of 66 ms provides spectral imaging for every scan.

We are confidently examining previously excluded patients and performing scans that were not achievable before.3
Prof. Joe Schoepf, MD
Prof. Joe Schoepf, MD
Radiologist, Director of Cardiovascular Imaging at the Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, USA 

Customer voices

A new level of cardiovascular detail

Professor Hatem Alkahdi, MD, and Professor Robert Manka, MD, from University Hospital Zurich explain what Quantum HD Cardiac resolution means for their patients.

Addressing new patient groups with photon-counting CT

Professor Joe Schoepf, MD, and Richard Bayer, MD, talk about how spectral sensitivity and ultra-high resolution in photon-counting CT can improve diagnostic consistency for their cardiology patients.

Scientifically proven technology

White Paper: NAEOTOM Alpha in cardiac imaging

White paper

NAEOTOM Alpha® in cardiac imaging 
Benefits of photon-counting technology for cardiac CT

Discover the full potential of the NAEOTOM Alpha class.

The NAEOTOM Alpha in other clinical fields

 

NAEOTOM Alpha.Prime, NAEOTOM Alpha.Pro and NAEOTOM Alpha.Peak are pending 510(k) clearance, and are not yet commercially available in the United States and other regions. 
The products/features (mentioned herein) are not commercially available in all countries. Their future availability cannot be guaranteed.
1
Hagar MT, et al. Accuracy of Ultrahigh-Resolution Photon-counting CT for Detecting Coronary Artery Disease in a High-Risk Population. Radiology. 2023 Jun;307(5):e223305, download: https://doi.org/10.1148/radiol.223305
2
Quantum PURE Lumen (Vascular Calcium Removal (VCR)) can be used to measure vessel (e.g., coronary) stenoses by removing the contributions of calcium from images, based on a phantom evaluation (Allmendinger T. et al., 2022, Investigative Radiology).
3
The statements by Siemens Healthineers’ customers described herein are based on results that were achieved in the customers’ unique setting. Because there is no “typical” hospital and many variables exist (e.g., hospital size, samples mix, case mix) there can be no guarantee that other customers will achieve the same results.