Inside Knowledge: Fast CT Scanner Does Not Skip a Heartbeat

Doctors have been been looking at the brain, the heart, and other internal organs with computed tomography machines, or CT, for more than four decades.
The technology uses X-rays to peer inside the body and requires patients to be calm. But that’s not always possible. According to a study from the British Journal of Radiology, almost two-thirds of patients referred to cardiac CT had high heart rates, and some were turned away from being scanned.



An image of carotid arteries: high definition head neck angio with 2 volumes 100kV / 300mA / 0.8sec rotation / BMI 25 / 2.3mSv.

GE Healthcare, which installed some of the first CT scanners in hospitals, has been developing new technologies that improve the CT scanning process. The latest is the Revolution CT*, which for the first time in CT, features the convergence of a wide scan coverage area big enough to scan the heart in only one beat, a clear image, and a fast scan. This means that patients can get their CTs completed more quickly and accurately, and at a low radiation dose.



An image of blood vessels in the brain: whole brain perfusion with variable sampling 2s/20+5s/30 80kVp / 150mA / 1 sec / 3.6mSv.

The Revolution uses high-resolution and motion correcting technology similar to the image stabilization features in personal cameras. The technology allows it to bypass previous obstacles and capture a motion free image of the human heart in just one beat. It allows doctors to retrieve sharper images with more information. Dr. Ricardo C. Cury, who chairs the radiology department at Baptist Health South Florida and used the machine, called it “innovation at its best” and “an all-in-one scanner.”

GE introduced the Revolution alongside a suite of products at the 99th annual Radiological Association of North America (RSNA) conference held last week in Chicago. “Revolution CT is able to scan even the most challenging patients, day in and day out, with remarkably clear images,” says Steve Gray, leader of Molecular Imaging & Computed Tomography at GE Healthcare. “This will be the first CT scanner that’s right for everybody in every clinical specialty.”

*Revolution is 510(k) pending at FDA and not available for sale in the U.S. Not yet CE market, not available for sale in all regions.



An image of the whole aorta: fast body vascular imaging using 4 volumes
120kV / 415mA / 0.4sec rotation / BMI 29 / 12mSv.