GE Healthcare unveils new dual-head SPECT/CT system with AI capabilities
At RSNA 2024, GE HealthCare presented Aurora, a new dual-head SPECT/CT system that integrated advanced CT capabilities with nuclear medicine imaging functionality. The system, which received CE marking but remained pending FDA 510(k) clearance, was designed to expand the range of CT procedures typically available in hybrid systems.
Technical specifications and capabilities
The system incorporates Revolution Ascend CT technology, featuring 40mm CT detector coverage – double that of comparable hybrid systems. The 75cm-wide CT bore facilitates high-speed scanning at 0.35-second rotation speed, with capability for up to 128 slices through overlapped reconstruction, enabling advanced procedures such as coronary CT angiography.
Aurora’s SPECT component is engineered to capture gamma rays from radioactive tracers, converting the detected events into data for diagnostic imaging across multiple clinical applications. The system’s integration of SPECT and CT aims to provide comprehensive physiological and structural information for conditions requiring early detection and precise localisation of abnormalities.
Enhanced imaging performance through AI integration
The system features several technological advances, including ASiR-V for dose reduction (up to 82% compared to filtered back projection) and noise reduction up to 91%. The SnapShot Freeze 2 technology improves motion blur reduction while maintaining spatial resolution for cardiac imaging. SwiftScan SPECT technology enables up to 25% reduction in scan time or injected dose whilst maintaining lesion detectability, as demonstrated in phantom testing.
Digital workflow optimisation
Professor Patrick Flamen, Head of Nuclear Medicine Department at Brussels University Hospital, reported that Aurora enabled more efficient patient care, particularly for those requiring frequent scans. The system’s Effortless Workflow feature incorporates Auto Prescription and Smart Plan, utilising digital automation to streamline technologist operations.
Clarify DL implementation advances bone SPECT imaging
GE HealthCare also introduced Clarify DL, a deep learning image reconstruction technology designed specifically for bone SPECT imaging. Clinical evaluation involving 127 examinations, assessed by nine physicians, demonstrated improved image resolution in 98% of cases compared to conventional reconstruction techniques. The technology aims to enhance image quality without the traditional trade-offs between noise reduction and contrast resolution that could impact diagnostic confidence.
Bruno Vanderlinden, Medical Physics Expert at Brussels University Hospital, noted the system’s versatility in nuclear medicine applications, supporting 2-D, 3-D, and dynamic imaging capabilities while achieving radiation dose reduction.
The system’s SmartMar technology addresses imaging artifacts, specifically targeting photon starvation, beam hardening, and streak artifacts caused by metallic objects in the body. Phantom testing validated the SwiftScan SPECT technology’s performance compared to LEHR collimator with Step & Shoot scan mode.
Clarify DL’s performance improvements were quantified using Structures Similarity (SSIM), Mean Squared Error (MSE), and Peak Signal-to-Noise Ratio (PSNR) metrics, compared against GEHC bone SPECT factory reconstruction presets. These improvements were demonstrated through digital phantom simulations with varying lesion parameters for both attenuation-corrected and non-corrected images.
The system representes an evolution in hybrid imaging technology, combining advanced CT capabilities with nuclear medicine functionality, supported by AI-driven image reconstruction and workflow optimisation tools. Both Aurora and Clarify DL received CE marking for use in EU countries, while FDA 510(k) clearance remains pending at the time of announcement.
- For more information, visit: https://www.gehealthcare.co.uk/products/molecular-imaging/aurora
