SOMATOM Definition FlashRedefining standards

When performing a cardiac scan, the main challenge is often posed by the time and effort it takes to prepare the patient. With a scan time of only 0,6 s and a full temporal resolution of 75 ms, the new SOMATOM Definition Flash allows scanning the entire heart and evaluating its morphology and coronaries without any beta blockers. Patients suffering from irregular heart rates or atrial fibrillations benefit from high-end cardiac scanning only taking 250 ms to perform – about a quarter of a heartbeat. Redefining your standards in cardiology with the new SOMATOM Definition Flash will expand your institution’s clinical capabilities, increase outcome quality for your patients, and help you streamline workflows significantly.

“With the SOMATOM Definition Flash, we can routinely scan patients with high and irregular heart rates without the need to prepare the patient, due to dual source technology's native temporal resolution of 75 msec which allows many options for motion-free image capture.”

Brian B. Ghoshhajra, M.D.
MGH Boston, Massachusetts, USA

A key challenge in pediatrics is to get these young patients to hold still. That’s why today’s standard procedure includes intense preparation, sedation, and after-care.
The Flash Spiral scan mode combines a scan speed 458mm/s and a temporal resolution of 75 ms – reducing the average examination time to only 0.49 s, in effect allowing you to routinely perform pediatric scans without hazardous sedation. Flash speed and FAST CARE technology make pediatric imaging both easier to use and more patient-friendly – for example, FAST 3D Align automatically optimizes the field of view. Increase your institution’s competitiveness and improve patient outcome by making Flash speed and Dual Source your standard.

“With the Flash, we can lower the dose without the need of sedation for patients under five (because of the speed of the scan).”

Marilyn J. Siegel, MD
Pediatric Radiologist, Washington University, USA

In order to provide precise diagnoses, oncology examination is all about recognizing lesions, and visualizing and quantifying tissue. With Dual Source Dual Energy scanning – the only modality that enables DE scanning at doses comparable to a conventional 120 kV scan –, you will be able to get all the information you need in a single scan. Creating virtual non-contrast images based on the Dual Energy information will help you and your institution save time and resources. Dual Energy Optimum Contrast achieves images with very low noise at high contrasts. Enhance your institution’s clinicial capabilities by standardizing dose-neutral Dual Source Dual Energy CT – introducing „two-in-one“ CT scanning for all your patients, and turning imaging information into imaging intelligence with syngo.via applications.

“From our perspective, any institution with a SOMATOM Definition Flash can start using Dual Source DE protocol for head and neck tumors from one day to the next.”

Hirofumi Kuno, MD
National Cancer Center Hospital East, Chiba, Japan

The Flash spiral mode with 458 mm/s allows examinations without breath-hold or sedation in non-cooperative patients like children.

CARE Child facilitates 70 kV scans, CARE Dose4D reduces the mAs accordingly – making sure that for our most delicate patients (children), the radiation dose is as minimal as possible.
 

High temporal resolution of DSCT with 75 ms allows freezing motion in cardiac CT, resulting in a clear visualization of coronaries.

The Stellar detectors significantly reduce slice blurring, resulting in a more precise visualization of calcified lesions and in-stent restenosis evaluation.

The heart perfusion mode dynamically covers the complete heart with sufficient temporal resolution even for high heart rates induced by Adenosine.

Flash Spiral obtains all relevant structures, including coronary arteries, for pre-procedural Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation planning in a single scan in less than 2 s.

Dual Source Dual Energy examinations in combination with syngo.via DE Bone Marrow allow for the precise characterization of lesions.

Dual Source Dual Energy scanning uses both tubes at the same time with different kV settings – allowing for virtual non-contrast images, thus eliminating additional non-contrast scans.

CARE kV automatically adapting the kV for the dedicated patient and examination type allows for low dose run-off studies.

ADMIRE² allows for excellent image quality and sharp delineation of soft tissue borders.

Adaptive 4D Spiral technology delivers quantitative perfusion information of whole organs and the whole brain. Additionally, the use of low kV settings reduces dose dramatically.

By using UHR scan modes, even smallest lesions can be clearly visualized.

The Stellar detectors and Edge technology deliver z-UHR-like high resolution inner ear images, providing excellent image quality even in smallest regions.

iMAR allows for iterative metal artifact reduction no matter if the artifacts are caused by implants such as dental fillings, screws, plates or prosthesis. iMAR helps to boost the image quality and makes sure a sound diagnosis can be done.

Dual Source technology is the key to accelerating CT imaging. The combination of two sources, a high table feed, ultra-fast data transmission, and a gantry that can perform a full rotation in 0.28 seconds makes the SOMATOM^® Definition Flash truly unrivalled when it comes to scanning speed. Its temporal resolution of 75 ms comes with no sacrifices in image quality – instead, it offers remarkable benefits not only for the most dose-sensitive patients: With the Flash Spiral, dose values under 1 mSv are so frequent that they can be considered routine.

The X-rays generated by the SOMATOM Definition Flash’s two sources are captured by two Stellar detectors. These high-end detectors with miniaturized electronic components generate ultra-thin slices with a very high spatial resolution – enabling coronary CT angiography for very obese patients. Thanks to the high-speed Flash Spiral, they also permit scans of patients suffering from atrial fibrillation. Added technologies like Edge and TrueSignal drastically improve the Stellar detectors’ already very good signal-to-noise ratio and deliver outstanding and homogeneous results over the entire field of view – especially when working with low signals.

With the SOMATOM Definition Flash’s state-of-the-art technology, outstanding image quality even at low-kV levels and ultra-high speed image acquisition become routine – which opens the door to a huge potential for dose reduction. The Selective Photon Shield also blocks low-energy photons out of the high-energy x-ray spectrum and so prevents unnecessary exposure. Dose-reduction solutions like CARE kV, Adaptive Dose Shield, and X-CARE further contribute to dose efficiency. At the end of the day, it comes down to this: Compared with a conventional 120 kV scan, a Dual Source Dual Energy scan with the SOMATOM Definition Flash is dose-neutral – but provides significantly better results. All of these advantages make more clinical applications accessible for more patients.

The lower the dose the more difficult it is to reconstruct images with an adequate image quality. This rule is common in CT. Now with Advanced Modeled Iterative Reconstruction ADMIRE⁴, the newest generation in iterative reconstruction, clinicians and radiologists have access to enhanced image quality with a natural image impression and all clinical applications at a dose level that exceed all expectations. ADMIRE makes integrating iterative reconstruction into daily routine easy: Thick slices are reconstructed at a natural image impression, even from ultra-low dose scans. The reconstructed datasets can easily be stored in PACS or on film. The basis for all this of course is the well acclaimed SAFIRE⁵ algorhythm – the industry’s first raw-data-based iterative reconstruction – that has introduced a new level of image quality, of dose reduction, and of clinical workflow.

Metal fillings and implants cause artifacts that often result in undiagnostic image quality, costing time for planning and potentially threatening therapy outcomes. iMAR⁶ is the industry’s most effective algorhythm focused on the removal of metal artifacts for enhanced diagnostic image quality. The minimal introduction of new interpolation artifacts, and the preservation of natural image impression and edge information will help streamline workflows and improve diagnostic confidence – with iMAR, surgical, prosthetic and dental fillings as well as pacemakers are not hiding insights anymore.