Computed tomography solution offers more extensive views into the body with greater patient comfort

May 14 2004

The Somatom Sensation Open, a recent development by Siemens Medical Solutions, is a computed tomography (CT) system especially designed for use in oncology and interventional CT as well as for ER examinations and bariatric patients. The system, based on the Somatom Sensation 16, works with the new, compact Straton X-ray tube and a rotation time of 0.5 seconds. It features a gantry aperture expanded to 82 cm facilitating patient access, and a 82 cm large, equally expanded field of view that displays the entire human anatomy.

The combination of large gantry aperture and expanded field of view improves, e.g., the CT-based planning of radiation therapy. The 82 cm large field of view allows for anatomical display outside the maximum scan range of 50 cm common with other systems. As a result, the physician is able to position the patient in exactly the same way as during subsequent radiation therapy. This includes patients with wide shoulders and bariatric patients. For this reason, even more exact radiation treatments are possible now. This is important for obtaining optimal therapeutic treatment success rates at high, effective radiation doses for cancerous tissue. At the same time, the level of radiation for surrounding tissue and healthy anatomical structures is kept as low as possible.

Interventional CT, facilitated by easy patient access, enables faster and safer positioning of medical instruments as compared to systems with conventional gantry apertures of approximately 70 cm. During emergency examinations, life-sustaining equipment does not have to be repositioned during the exam. The large gantry aperture of the Somatom Sensation Open makes this unnecessary.

The Somatom Sensation Open is a special CT solution for advanced imaging with improved patient access and simplified workflows. These features make the system especially suitable for applications where time is of the essence. The Somatom Sensation Open works with the syngo user interface by Siemens, an intuitive software platform for all imaging modalities and systems. Syngo harmonizes and automatizes the operating processes of largely different systems, for example, magnetic resonance and computed tomography.