UW Radiology is excited to welcome new, high-quality imaging equipment from GE Healthcare, the PET/CT 710. The 710’s more complex and consistent quantitative tools allow our clinicians to focus on personalized patient care through highly precise imaging, especially in monitoring response of tumors to therapy.
The PET detector material is highly sensitive and is designed to collect an increased amount of information at high speeds and increased resolution which results in detailed pictures at a lower radiation dose. Additional software applications allow for improvement in imaging specialty tracers used in patient management.
The new Q.Freeze system combines the quantitative data of 4D phase-matched PET/CT imaging into a single static image. Combining multiple scans means no data is lost or wasted. Although unconscious patient movement during a scan may result in an unclear singular image, viewing a composite image reflects an accurate portrayal of the scanned area regardless of patient movement.
To further negate motion, the Q.Static feature helps isolate organs when they are in a low motion state, and using this as a baseline, helps correct for normal organ motion throughout the entire scan. The result is reduced blurring from organ motion and therefore a more consistent image.
The Q.Freeze and Q.Static features mean more image clarity and less variability in a scan. “With this decrease in measurement variability, we can better monitor a tumor’s metabolism and its response to therapy,” said Dr. Scott Perlman. “This way, we can more easily know if a patient’s treatment is successful.”
With a more complex imaging system, the PET/CT 710 also needed more robust computing hardware. The 710’s Q.Core processing system manages both PET acquisition and reconstruction at faster speeds, all while using an energy-saving system for a more compact ecological footprint that is important to UW.
The PET/CT 710 will be a component of the future trimodality imaging system which will capture images from PET, CT, and MRI with a patient in the same position. Fusing of these images will allow for evaluation of these technologies not only individually but also together, and provide insight to new possibilities in improving patient care.
The department is proud to be the recipient of this GE technology, and looks forward to its use for the patients that need it most.
Drs. Perlman and Jaskowiak contributed to this story.