FDA Clears Siemens’ CT Scanner for the Budget-Conscious

The FDA has cleared Siemens Healthcare’s new 128-slice CT scanner designed as a budget-conscious option for community hospitals, critical access hospitals, and outpatient centers, the company announced.

The Somatom Perspective includes their Sinogram Affirmed Iterative Reconstruction (SAFIRE) method for CT image reconstruction, which helps users reduce dose by up to 60 percent compared to other filtered back projection techniques, the company said. With reconstruction speed of up to 15 images per second, SAFIRE can be used in daily clinical routines.

The Somatom Perspective also includes an eMode feature, created to determine and automatically select parameters so the CT operates with as low a load as possible to minimize wear and increase the scanner’s life cycle, the company said. It also has Fully Assisting Scanner Technologies (FAST) to simplify and automate complex procedures.

The Somatom Perspective can scan long ranges rapidly, making it ideal for thoracic examination, and it can potentially image all body regions, widening clinical capabilities. Somatom’s slim gantry and 194-square-foot gantry allows it to be installed in small rooms, and it requires less electricity than other CT systems, the company said. The system, which is available with service and leasing options tailored to the community hospital, can usually be installed in one day.