Siemens Healthineers launches new CT scanner for fast diagnosis and precise interventions in demanding clinical areas

• Somatom X.ceed is a high-speed and high-resolution CT scanner with an intelligent operation approach that simplifies procedures for medical staff and patients.
• Somatom X.ceed extends clinical capabilities in demanding and rapidly growing areas like cardiac and emergency imaging or during CT-guided interventions.
• New cross-modality solution myNeedle Companion supports flexible, fast workflows in CT-guided interventions.

Siemens Healthineers presents Somatom X.ceed¹, a new high-resolution, high-speed CT (computed tomography) scanner engineered specifically for the most challenging clinical areas where time and precision are of essence. To support medical staff in their workflows during critical situations, two ‘companions’ for automated user guidance are integrated: myExam Companion guides users through diagnostic procedures; myNeedle Companion² supports targeted needle path planning as well as laser-guided insertion across multiple modalities. As a result, the fastest single-source CT scanner from Siemens Healthineers can assist healthcare providers with their clinical decisions especially well in areas like emergency imaging, cardiac CT, and CT-guided interventions, all of them growing clinical fields.

With its large bore of 82 centimetres and its user-friendly tablet operation, Somatom X.ceed is designed from the ground up to enhance user and patient experience, two of the top three department priorities³. The system’s power and fast rotation time can use their full potential thanks to the intelligent automation of myExam Companion, achieving high-speed and high spatial resolution, key for cardiac, emergency, and spectral imaging.

myNeedle Companion for minimally invasive treatment

Computed tomography is one of the most used imaging modalities when cross-sectional image guidance is needed for percutaneous interventional procedures, like biopsies, ablations, or pain therapy. Almost 50 per cent of sites perform at least three CT-guided interventions per day⁴. In these procedures, time and precision are critical. But the time needed, and the success rate depend greatly on the users and their experience level. Patient cooperation influences the success rate as well. Complex hardware and user interfaces or limited guidance may even increase these challenges and lead to variations in outcome.

With myNeedle Companion, Siemens Healthineers simplifies the workflow in minimally invasive treatments. myNeedle Companion is a unique combination of hardware and software designed to greatly reduce the complexity in CT guided interventions. In addition, it is the first universal solution with a harmonised user interface for the planning and guidance of percutaneous needle procedures across imaging modalities, be it for a CT or an angiography system. Once the workflow is trained on one modality, the training efforts on another modality are expected to be much shorter. This can help to reduce unwarranted variations and minimise training efforts. Familiar user interfaces let the radiologist concentrate on what matters: accurate needle positioning with the help of the unique myNeedle Laser: a powerful, fully integrated option that projects the needle entry point and insertion angle directly on the body of the patient – even in advanced double-angulated procedures with multiple needle paths.

Emergency and cardiovascular procedures are challenging and growing clinical areas for CT

Emergency radiology is rapidly evolving. In the last 20 years the demand for CT-imaging in emergency departments has increased by 250 per cent.³ In a busy emergency environment, inefficient workflows can slow down radiologists who need to triage patients and perform multiple, demanding tasks quickly. With the intelligent support of myExam Companion, staff members can easily unlock the full potential of Somatom X.ceed, speeding up procedures from patient preparation to image evaluation. Applications powered by artificial intelligence provide ready to read results aimed to facilitate diagnostic tasks.

The ability of cardiac CT to rapidly evaluate multiple cardiovascular conditions has allowed CT to become an important diagnostic instrument for steadily rising numbers in cardiovascular diseases (CVD)⁵. From 2011 to 2019, CT cardiac procedures more than doubled from 1.4 to 3.0 million⁶. These procedures, some of the most complex in computed tomography, are now performed routinely by staff of all skills levels. Here, as in emergency imaging, myExam Companion plays a major role in guiding the user towards more standardised results and low dose levels.

“As the number and complexity of radiological procedures increase, demands on staff are reaching heightened levels. This continues to cause unwarranted variation, in both diagnostic and interventional procedures. Somatom X.ceed, together with myNeedle Companion, is a true game changer for CT-guided interventions. After the introduction of myExam Companion last year, reducing the overall complexity of scanner operation in as many aspects as possible was our next logical step,” says Russell Lodge, CT business manager at Siemens Healthineers GB&I.

Join us at the largest multidisciplinary imaging and oncology conference in the UK
Thursday, June 17, 14:30-14:45
myNeedle Companion for CT – Universal. Simple. Powerful. 

“Time and precision are critical in CT-guided intervention but even in routine in-plane percutaneous needle procedures, precise targeting can be cumbersome, with nothing to help the radiologist visualise critical anatomical structures. This session will provide an overview of how Siemens Healthineers’ new advances support interventional CT from routine to complex procedures,”  Helen Courtney, CT product specialist.

Picture: Siemens Healthineers presents Somatom X.ceed, a new high-resolution, high-speed CT scanner engineered specifically for the most challenging clinical areas.

This news story has been sponsored by the companies concerned and does not represent the views or opinions of RAD Magazine. Visit our dedicated UKIO conference page to find out more.

¹ Somatom X.ceed and its features are not commercially available in all countries. Their future availability cannot be guaranteed. This product does not yet fulfill all the essential requirements according to the European Medical Device Directive (93/42/EEC) and its national implementations, nor all applicable General Safety and Performance Requirements according to the European Medical Device Regulation 2017/745. It is not yet commercially available in the European Union.
¹ Somatom X.ceed is 510(k) pending and is not yet commercially available in the United States.
² myNeedle Companion and it features are not commercially available in all countries. Their future availability cannot be guaranteed.
³ IMV (2020): CT Market Outlook Report.
⁴ Gupta R, et al. (2014): CT-Guided Interventions: Current Practice and Future Directions.
⁵ https://www.acc.org/about-acc/press-releases/2020/12/09/18/30/cvd-burden-and-deaths-rising-around-the-world
⁶ IMV (2019): CT Market Outlook Report.