- A pioneer in digital nuclear medicine,[i] GE HealthCare is once again innovating for the future with Aurora,[ii] a new SPECT/CT designed to harnesses advanced CT capabilities to help expand the range of CT procedures typically available for patients in hybrid systems.[iii]
- Designed to enhance bone SPECT image quality, Clarify DL harnesses the power of artificial intelligence (AI) to help deliver clear, accurate, and effortless imaging – a stark contrast to today’s noise reduction techniques.
“As precision care and personalized medicine increasingly define the future of healthcare, Aurora will play an essential role in enabling clinicians to make informed decisions and deliver tailored treatments to help enhance patient outcomes,” says Jean-Luc Procaccini, President & CEO, Molecular Imaging and Computed Tomography, GE HealthCare. “Additionally, GE HealthCare is proud to be a leader in the integration of machine learning and AI advancements for more than a decade. As a result, we’ve witnessed firsthand how these technologies can address some of the industry's toughest challenges. With this experience top of mind, we are proud to offer Clarify DL to our nuclear medicine customers, harnessing the power of AI for exceptional image quality.”
As healthcare continues to shift toward precision medicine and personalized care, clinicians require more advanced SPECT/CT solutions. These nuclear medicine systems combine functional imaging from single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) with anatomical details from computed tomography (CT), offering clinicians a comprehensive view of both the physiological and structural aspects of diseases.
Aurora is designed to capture gamma rays emitted by radioactive tracers. These captured events are then turned into data that help create images showing the distribution of the tracer and enabling diagnoses across various care areas.
It also features GE HealthCare’s Revolution Ascend CT technology, offering additional design solutions to allow advanced CT capabilities beyond routine imaging typically available in hybrid systems.[iii] This includes 40mm CT detector coverage – twice that of other hybrid systems[iii] – with a 75 cm-wide CT bore to help enhance patient comfort while facilitating high-speed scanning (0.35-second rotation speed)[iv] and offering up to 128 slices[v] for advanced procedures like coronary CT angiography.
“Aurora has allowed us to provide more efficient care to our patients, especially those undergoing frequent scans,” shares Prof. Patrick Flamen, Head of Nuclear Medicine Department, Brussels University Hospital.[vi] “It permits an impressive integration of the SPECT and CT components – enabling a one-stop examination that combines high-end, high-quality diagnostic CT scans with a whole-body SPECT... Aurora may be the new kid on the block, but its abilities are sure to make it popular.”
GE HealthCare designed Aurora to unlock the potential of digital solutions, providing new opportunities to help clinicians solve operational and diagnostic challenges, as well as develop personalized approaches for better patient outcomes. These enhancements include:
- ASiR-V for lower dose (up to 82% relative to FBP), reduced noise levels up to 91%, and improved spatial resolution at the same image noise;[vii]
- SnapShot Freeze 2 for improvement in motion blur reduction while maintaining high spatial resolution for whole heart motion correction;[viii]
- SwiftScan SPECT, which enables up to a 25% reduction in scan time or injected dose[ix] while maintaining lesion detectability;[x] and
- SmartMar for excellent artifact-less imaging, enabling the reduction of photon starvation, beam hardening, and streak artifacts caused by metal in the body.
“Aurora is the machine we were waiting for,” adds Bruno Vanderlinden, Medical Physics Expert, Brussels University Hospital.vi “We can program the machine to run all the tests we do in nuclear medicine. It really is the Swiss army knife of imaging machines in nuclear medicine. We were able to set up acquisitions for 2-D, 3-D, and dynamic imaging, with high-quality CT scans and a significant reduction in radiation dose.”
Leveraging AI for exceptional image quality in nuclear medicine
Also, a part of GE HealthCare’s nuclear medicine portfolio, Clarify DL[xi] represents a new deep learning image reconstruction, which is designed to enhance bone SPECT image quality performance,[xii] an important factor in increasing diagnostic confidence. In a clinical evaluation, Clarify DL's image resolution was rated as better in 98% of the exams.[xiii]
The result is an AI-powered solution designed to deliver clear, accurate, and effortless imaging – a stark contrast to today’s noise reduction techniques, which typically reduce noise at the expense of contrast and resolution and may impact accuracy and diagnostic confidence.
“Clarify DL, where AI is used to optimize reconstruction is most important,” adds Prof. Flamen.vi “I saw some very nice examples comparing Clarify DL reconstruction to conventional reconstruction, and it's easy to see the difference and the fact that Clarify DL really performs better.”
For more information on GE HealthCare’s new Aurora SPECT/CT system and Clarify DL solutions, please visit gehealthcare.com or stop by the company’s booth at the Radiological Society of North America 2024 Meeting in Chicago, Illinois, USA.
[i] “GE HealthCare announces AI Innovation Lab showcasing five new research projects.” GE HealthCare. 21 Oct 2024. https://www.gehealthcare.com/about/newsroom/press-releases/ge-healthcare-announces-ai-innovation-lab-showcasing-five-new-research-projects#_edn4.
[ii] Aurora is CE marked. Available for sale in EU countries. 510(k) pending at the US FDA. Not available for sale in the U.S and other non-EU countries.
[iii] Aurora as compared to NM/CT 870 DR with Optima CT 540.
[iv] 0.35 rotation speed is optional. 0.5 second rotation speed is standard.
[v] 128 slices with the overlapped reconstruction option.
[vi] The statement by the GE Healthcare customer described here is based on their own opinions and experiences and on results that were achieved in the customer’s unique setting. Since there is no typical hospital and many variables exist, such as hospital size, case mix, etc., there can be no guarantee that other customers will achieve the same results.
[vii] ASiR-V reduces dose by 50% to 82% relative to FBP at the same image quality, as defined by low contrast detectability. ASiR-V reduces image noise up to 91% at the same dose. ASiR-V improves spatial resolution up to 2.07X (107%) at same image noise. In clinical practice, the use of ASiR-V may reduce CT patient dose depending on the clinical task, patient size, anatomical location, and clinical practice. A consultation with a radiologist and a physicist should be made to determine the appropriate dose to obtain diagnostic image quality for the particular clinical task. Low Contrast Detectability (LCD), Image Noise, Spatial Resolution and Artifact were assessed using reference factory protocols comparing ASiR-V and FBP. The LCD measured in 0.625 mm slices and tested for both head and body modes using the MITA CT IQ Phantom (CCT183, The Phantom Laboratory), using model observer method.
[viii] The SnapShot Freeze 2 algorithm provides up to 6x improvement in motion blur reduction while maintaining high spatial resolution. This is demonstrated in cardiac phantom testing. The reduction in motion artifacts is comparable to a 0.058s Equivalent Gantry Rotation Speed with effective temporal resolution of 29 msec, as demonstrated in mathematical phantom testing.
[ix] Compared to LEHR collimator, with Step & Shoot scan mode. As demonstrated in phantom testing using a bone scan protocol, Evolution processing, and a model observer. Because model observer results may not always match those from a human reader, the actual time/dose reduction depends on the clinical task, patient size, anatomical location and clinical practice. A radiologist should determine the appropriate scan time/dose for the particular clinical task.
[x] As demonstrated in phantom testing using a model observer. Compared to using the LEHR Collimator and a SPECT Step & Shoot acquisition.
[xi] Clarify DL is CE marked with Xeleris V and StarGuide. 510(k) pending at the US FDA. Not available for sale in the United States.
[xii] Clarify DL improves image quality performance measured by Structures Similarity (SSIM), Mean Squared Error (MSE), and Peak Signal-to-Noise Ratio (PSNR), as compared to GEHC bone SPECT factory reconstruction presets. Demonstrated using digital phantom simulations with inserted lesions size, location, and contrast, for AC and NC.
[xiii] As demonstrated in clinical evaluation in which 127 exams were rated by total of 9 physicians. Each exam was reconstructed with both Clarify DL and the existing factory reconstruction preset and evaluated by 3 of the physicians.
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About GE HealthCare Technologies Inc.
GE HealthCare is a leading global medical technology, pharmaceutical diagnostics, and digital solutions innovator, dedicated to providing integrated solutions, services, and data analytics to make hospitals more efficient, clinicians more effective, therapies more precise, and patients healthier and happier. Serving patients and providers for more than 125 years, GE HealthCare is advancing personalized, connected, and compassionate care, while simplifying the patient’s journey across the care pathway. Together our Imaging, Ultrasound, Patient Care Solutions, and Pharmaceutical Diagnostics businesses help improve patient care from diagnosis, to therapy, to monitoring. We are a $19.6 billion business with approximately 51,000 colleagues working to create a world where healthcare has no limits.
GE HealthCare is a leading global medical technology, pharmaceutical diagnostics, and digital solutions innovator, dedicated to providing integrated solutions, services, and data analytics to make hospitals more efficient, clinicians more effective, therapies more precise, and patients healthier and happier. Serving patients and providers for more than 125 years, GE HealthCare is advancing personalized, connected, and compassionate care, while simplifying the patient’s journey across the care pathway. Together our Imaging, Ultrasound, Patient Care Solutions, and Pharmaceutical Diagnostics businesses help improve patient care from diagnosis, to therapy, to monitoring. We are a $19.6 billion business with approximately 51,000 colleagues working to create a world where healthcare has no limits.