Pediatric imaging with the NAEOTOM Alpha classPrecise care for the most vulnerable patients

CT is instrumental in diagnosing illness and injury in children. However, because children are more sensitive to radiation than adults, radiation-free MRI has been the preferred modality. Additionally, long scans often require sedation, as children cannot remain still for the length of the exam. Sedation adds risk, effort, and costs. The goal is to acquire the images necessary for diagnosis without sedation and with as low as possible radiation dose. Enter photon-counting CT.

The NAEOTOM® Alpha class photon-counting CT in pediatrics can help take care of young patients. It provides clinical images with high resolution in a short time, may reduce the need for sedation, and offers dose-lowering features that protect young patients from unnecessary radiation exposure.

Children have special needs in diagnostic imaging, especially regarding holding still during exams. Until recently, both CT and MRI commonly required sedation or anesthesia for most pediatric patient groups. NAEOTOM Alpha.Pro and NAEOTOM Alpha.Peak with Quantum Technology and Dual Source technology enable faster imaging without compromising image quality in pediatric CT scans.
The enhanced scan speeds with up to 74 cm/s enable the acquisition of high-quality images in a few seconds, reducing the need for sedation in pediatric patients who cannot remain still during conventional CT scans. At top-ranked St. Louis Children’s Hospital, they reported that in 2023 with NAEOTOM Alpha 96.5% of the pediatric patients could be scanned without any sedation.¹

Optimizing the exposure of children to radiation has been a longstanding objective in pediatric imaging, based on the ALARA (as low as reasonably achievable) principle. In the past, ultra-high-resolution imaging has resulted in increased radiation doses and has not been the preferred method of choice for pediatric patients. Now, the NAEOTOM Alpha class has the potential to achieve Quantum HD images that clearly reveal relevant anatomical structures at lower radiation doses than EID CT scanners. 
The NAEOTOM Alpha class includes dose reduction features such as 70 kV imaging and Tin Filter. A recent study of Cao et. al from Duke University Medical Center, titled “Pediatric applications of photon-counting detector CT” highlights that “The improved CNR of photon-counting detector CT not only allows more judicious use of iodinated contrast material but can yield additional clinically useful information by preserving contrast information from low-energy photons.”²

In the past, image noise has been the trade-off for radiation dose reduction. QuantaMax® detectors directly convert X-rays into electric charges, eliminating electronic noise and enabling better visualization of small structures and anatomical details. This can be especially beneficial in pediatric cases where precise imaging is essential for accurate diagnosis and treatment planning. 
Other Quantum Technology features like Quantum Spectral Imaging in all exams are beneficial for providing material-specific imaging and functional information for these challenging patient groups.