GE Healthcare, a unit of General Electric Company (NYSE:GE), announced the launch of Alcyone Technology, a nuclear cardiology platform combining cadmium zinc telluride (CZT) detectors, focused pin-hole collimation, 3D reconstruction, and stationary data acquisition, to improve workflow, dose management, and overall image quality. 

“We haven’t seen a revolution of this magnitude in Nuclear Cardiology in more than 50 years,” said Nathan Hermony, general manager of GE Healthcare’s Nuclear Imaging business. “With this technology, we have the opportunity to raise the industry standard of diagnosis and workflow.”

The new Alcyone technology will be available on both the Discovery NM 530c and the Discovery NM/CT 570c.  Alcyone’s heightened sensitivity and zero equipment motion improves both image quality and energy resolution, enabling the potential for new clinical applications including 3D dynamic acquisitions and simultaneous dual isotope imaging.   
 
With conventional nuclear cardiac imaging, a patient must hold their arms above their head for two scans that take between 15-20 minutes each.  With the Discovery NM 530c, the scanning time is reduced to 3-5 minutes for each scan.  This reduction in time can be less painful, and possibly reduce any patient movement due to the pain or uncomfortable positioning, causing artifacts in the scan. A shorter, more comfortable scan has the opportunity to improve image quality, allowing clinicians to be more confident in their diagnosis. 
 
The Discovery NM/CT 570c has the ability to perform a complete cardiac scan in less than five minutes including myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI), Computed Tomographic Angiography (CTA), and calcium scoring (CaSC). The Discovery NM/CT 570c also shortens acquisition times, improves dose management, and enables more convenient patient scheduling in comparison to separate, conventional SPECT and CT exams.

Building a growth framework for nuclear cardiology departments to evolve with changing patient needs, GE Healthcare also provides a practical upgrade pathway from Ventri, the dedicated conventional nuclear cardiology camera. With the launch of Alycone technology, clinicians now have the option of upgradeability to the Discovery NM530c and Discovery NM/CT 570c systems.

GE Healthcare’s Alcyone technology will be showcased with the Discovery NM 530c on display at the American College of Cardiology 58th Annual Scientific Session in Orlando, FL March 29-31, 2009 at booth 2328.