Siemens to rebuild gamma cameras

The nuclear medicine group of Siemens Medical Systems in Hoffman Estates, IL, is giving a higher profile to its gamma camera remanufacturing capability. The company last month launched its Siemens Remanufactured Product (SRP) line, which it plans to position as a viable alternative to new gamma cameras.

SRP cameras undergo a seven-step remanufacturing process, in which the systems are disassembled and rebuilt, with components repaired or replaced if necessary. The cameras are also refinished and include a one-year warranty, with a three-year warranty for crystals. Siemens claims that in some cases the systems emerge from the process better than when they were sold because they are brought up to current specifications, with state-of-the-art detectors, electronics, and other components.

In other Siemens nuclear medicine news, the company has released a new version of its ECAT ART positron emission tomography camera. Unveiled at the European Association of Nuclear Medicine meeting, the new ECAT ART features iterative reconstruction algorithms for better image quality and a single-photon scanning method that enables higher throughput for whole-body attenuation-corrected studies. Siemens first introduced ECAT ART at the 1994 Society of Nuclear Medicine meeting, and the camera carries a list price of $1.2 million (SCAN 6/15/94).