Software unlocks information in CT images to enable AI-driven plaque analysis and PCI planning

Siemens Healthineers’ Syngo.CT Coronary Cockpit is a software solution within the Syngo.via platform designed to support the management of coronary artery disease (CAD) for dual-source and photon-counting CT scanners. Syngo.CT Coronary Cockpit provides advanced, automated plaque analysis so critical details embedded in cardiac CT images become accessible, supporting clinical decision making and intervention planning.

Dr Balint Szilveszter of Semmelweis University Heart and Vascular Centre in Budapest, Hungary, said: “There is a lot of information that is locked within CT images. Syngo.CT Coronary Cockpit is an automated tool that provides a fast approach to unlock this information to include it in our everyday clinical routine. The information can be used for optimising medical therapy or to plan percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) procedures before even entering the cath lab.”

Advances in cardiac CT, particularly with dual-source and photon-counting CT scanners, have made non-invasive coronary CT angiography (CCTA) a frontline diagnostic tool. Studies have shown that using CCTA with the Naeotom Alpha CT scanner from Siemens Healthineers can more than halve referrals for diagnostic angiography, lower costs and shorten hospital stays, due to its diagnostic value in assessing plaque visibility.

Syngo.CT Coronary Cockpit also characterises both the amount and the morphology of coronary plaque through AI-based segmentation, labelling and visualisation. Information such as plaque composition, size and distribution supports clinicians in better assessing risk and selecting the most appropriate treatment.

Picture: Syngo.CT Coronary Cockpit is new software for use within the Syngo.via platform. Credit: Semmelweis University Hospital, Budapest, Hungary.

Read this report on page 6 of the April 2026 issue of RAD Magazine.