GE Healthcare debuted the first in a new line of all-digital scanners that it dubs “future-ready” and that aim to deliver faster images of patients seeking a wider range of care.
The company said it hopes its Omni Legend system, combining PET and CT scans, will set the stage for the imaging modality for the next 10 to 20 years. The system features a scalable, upgradable design that aims to make the device compatible with upcoming advancements in digital detectors, artificial intelligence software and injectable tracers.
The Omni platform includes a new category of digital detector that GE Healthcare described in its announcement as more than twice as sensitive when compared with older digital scanners, allowing for faster scans with lower doses of radiation.
The Legend system was also built around the idea of delivering theranostics, combining diagnostics with therapeutic interventions at the same time—such as procedures in oncology, cardiology and neurology involving imaging tracers with a short half-life. Future upgrades can include expansions in the device’s axial field of view and other CT capabilities.
Unveiled at the annual meeting of the European Association of Nuclear Medicine in Barcelona, Spain, the Omni Legend and its AI-based image processing software—known as Precision DL—have both received CE Mark approvals on the continent.
The device also employs an AI-powered camera that creates a 3D model and helps automatically position the patient within the center of the bore, which GE Healthcare said can help improve the overall efficiency and throughput of PET/CT imaging.
The company cited figures from Technion, the Israel Institute of Technology, showing that the system could increase the number of daily scans by 50% while lowering patient doses. It can complete as many as 35 scans in a single shift.
The system is not yet available in the U.S.; while the scanning hardware has received a 510(k) clearance from the FDA, Precision DL’s green light is still pending.