Picker's highlights at SNM conferenceto include single-head gamma camera

Vendor will show dual-head artifact correction

Picker International will expand the versatility of its single-headgamma camera lineup by introducing Prism 1500XP at next week'sSociety of Nuclear Medicine meeting in Minneapolis. Picker alsoplans to display simultaneous attenuation correction on its Prism2000XP camera as a work-in-progress.

The new Prism 1500XP is a general-purpose camera that usesa cantilever design and a counterweight opposite the detectorhead to enable imaging of patients in hospital beds and gurneys,according to Scott Horowitz, marketing communications specialistfor the Cleveland vendor. The camera will compete with other over-the-bedsystems like GE's Starcam product, Horowitz said.

Prism 1500XP shares the same digital electronics, roboticsand automated design controls as Prism 1000XP, Picker's existingsingle-head camera. It uses an Odyssey VP image processing workstation,like other Prism systems.

A unique feature is Prism 1500XP's moving-gantry scanning capabilityand a patient table that can scan patients up to 6 feet 6 inchestall, according to Horowitz. The system also automatically levelsthe detector head over the patient without the use of manual adjustments.

Prism 1500XP will carry the same price tag as Prism 1000XPand received Food and Drug Administration 510(k) clearance inMarch. Prism 1000XP will remain in Picker's lineup, accordingto Horowitz, and will probably be the camera of choice for customersinterested in stepping up to a dual-head system in the future.Prism 1000XP can be upgraded to a dual-head system in the field,while Prism 1500XP cannot.

"In a department where they want to do a lot of general-purposeimaging, and they want the ability to do over-the-bed imagingwith the patient on a gurney, the Prism 1500XP would be theiralternative," Horowitz said.

Picker also plans to display its progress in adapting its simultaneoustransmission-emission protocol (STEP) technique to the Prism 2000XPdual-head system. Picker announced at last year's RadiologicalSociety of North America meeting that it was working on a dual-headversion of STEP (SCAN 12/28/94). Picker began shipping STEP lastyear on its triple-head Prism 3000XP systems.

Other works-in-progress on display will be advances in scintimammographyand xenon delivery systems, both for the Prism 3000XP. Scintimammographyis one of the hottest areas of research in nuclear medicine, whilethe use of xenon gas as a tracer material holds promise as anaccurate method of quantifying blood flow in the brain.