December 9, 2013 — GE Healthcare announced at the Radiological Society of North America Annual Meeting (RSNA 2013) in Chicago that its U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) 510(k)-pending Revolution CT 256-slice system has captured a motion-free image of the human heart in just one beat.
This technology enables clinicians to noninvasively visualize the human heart more clearly than ever before and diagnose more patients with erratic or high heartbeats.
According to the British Journal of Radiology, more than 60 percent of patients referred to cardiac computed tomography (CT) were found to have heart rates higher than 60 beats per minute, and some are turned away from being scanned. With Revolution CT, clinicians can clearly see specific areas of the heart that were previously compromised either by a patient’s movement, high heart rate or a child’s inability to hold his or her breath.
Ricardo Cury, M.D., chairman of radiology and director of cardiac imaging, Baptist Health South Florida, and principal investigator of the study, captured the images. According to Cury, physicians no longer will be forced to choose between CT systems with wide coverage, high spatial resolution (clear image) or high temporal resolution (speed). For the first time, GE Healthcare’s Revolution CT converges these three technology advances into one CT system.
GE Healthcare collaborated with West Kendall Baptist Hospital to demonstrate the capabilities of the new Revolution CT scanner. The clinical data obtained will be used to create sample clinical images for product and technology development, FDA regulatory submission and inclusion in publications.
“This is innovation at its best and is really an all-in-one scanner,” said Cury. “Diagnostic-quality images of the coronary vessels are now possible in patients with high heart rates with a single heartbeat acquisition, which is a significant advancement. The impressive ability of Revolution CT to combine improvements in coverage, spatial and temporal resolution in a single scanner will translate into many clinical applications and improved patient care.”
The Revolution CT addresses the challenges of acquiring accurate diagnostic images for patients with high or irregular heartbeats. Due to the speed, coverage and the unique intelligent motion-correction capability of Revolution CT, motion-free cardiac images are possible even for these patients. The system offers shorter scan times and optimized X-ray dose. There are also scan modes for pediatric use.
“This is innovation at its best and is really an all-in-one scanner,” said Cury. “Diagnostic quality images are now possible in challenging patients like those with high heart rates, which is a significant advancement. The impressive ability of Revolution to combine coverage, spatial and temporal resolution in a single scanner will translate to many clinical applications and potentially new applications in the future.”
The Revolution CT makes definitive tests possible through the convergence of spatial resolution, temporal resolution, coverage and low dose all-in-one, providing uncompromised image quality and clinical capabilities. This convergence enables the following advanced clinical exams:
- Comprehensive cardiac exams with anatomic and functional information in just one heartbeat even with challenging patients and higher heart rates
- Rapid, whole-brain stroke assessment at low dose
- Dynamic liver, kidney or pancreas oncology workup personalized with perfusion and vascular flow analysis.
The Revolution CT is engineered with technology advances including the 16 cm Gemstone Clarity detector for whole organ coverage, spatial resolution at 230 microns for visualizing small anatomy, and a 0.28-second gantry designed and tested for up to 0.2-second rotation speed. Combined with SnapShot Freeze motion correction technology, the system delivers 24-millisecond effective temporal resolution for high heart rate imaging without restrictions.
The Revolution CT also features ASiR-V, GE’s next generation of iterative reconstruction technology.
For the patient, the system provides a wider, more comfortable 80 cm bore and a quiet scanning experience with the new Whisper Drive system. Fast scanning with streamlined workflow makes it a fitting scanner for emergency rooms.
Revolution CT will be easier to use as GE Healthcare is also introducing a revolutionary new user interface based on inputs from hundreds of clinicians and technologists around the world.
The Revolution CT is not yet CE marked and is not available for sale in all regions.
For more information: www.gehealthcare.com
March 20, 2024 
