Dr. David Bluemke, visiting professor in the Department of Radiology and incoming editor of the journal Radiology, presented at the Society of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography annual meeting earlier last month. Bluemke gave two lectures at the conference on the topic of new and emerging CT technology.
The first, “Emerging Technology That Will Soon Change how Cardiovascular CT is Practiced,” dealt with both the potential that machine learning algorithms have for replacing manual analysis of CT scans of the heart as well as the introduction of new CT scanners able to evaluate the entire body quickly enough to image the heart without cardiac gating. The presentation also looked at ways that dual energy or spectral CT can create a more comprehensive CT examination that can characterize myocardial infarct in a way previously only available with MRI. The second presentation was titled “Photon-Counting CT” and covered a new generation of CT scanners which have the ability to produce spatial resolution double that of conventional CT scanners. These photon-counting scanners remove several steps in the process of converting x-rays into a digital image which reduces image noise, using technology initially created for use in particle detectors at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN). These scanners operate with a radiation dose 30-40% less than that of current CT scans and allow for spectral/multi-energy CT to always be available. Dr. Bluemke’s experience with photon-counting detectors dates back to his time at the National Institutes of Health where their Clinical Center investigated prototype technology early in 2016.
Following his presentations Dr. Bluemke was interviewed by Dave Fornell, the editor of Diagnostic and Interventional Cardiology. The interview covered some of the content in Bluemke’s two lectures and is available at the Diagnostic and Interventional Cardiology website.