GE Healthcare has announced 510(k) clearance of its new Computed Tomography (CT) technology, called Veo, which may help physicians deliver accurate diagnoses by enabling profound CT image clarity at dramatically lower dose. Veo represents what is called Model-based Iterative Reconstruction (MBIR) technique, and is already available on GE Discovery CT750 HD systems in Europe, Canada and regions of Asia.
In fact, Veo has already been clinically shown to offer highly improved image clarity at yet unseen low dose levels. Current Veo users in Europe report successful chest CTs done with an equivalent amount of medical radiation dose as a chest x-ray, or less than one-tenth of one mSv. “With a clinical chest CT at 0.05 mSv, we produced images where we could see and analyze pathology,” said Professor Johan de Mey, Chair of the Radiol- ogy Department at University Hospital in Brussels, Belgium. “With Veo, we can conduct lower dose CT scans in children, too, and this is particularly important in groups that require continued follow-up, such as those with cystic fibrosis or lymphoma.”
While complementing the robust imaging capabilities of GE’s advanced Adaptive Statistical Iterative Reconstruction (ASiR) technique, Veo represents a significant techno- logical leap forward just as the topic of diagnostic medical radiation levels has come into the national spotlight.
In clinical practice, the use of Veo may reduce CT patient dose depending on the clinical task, patient size, anatomical location and clinical practice. A consultation with a radiologist and a physicist should be made to determine the appropriate dose to obtain diagnostic image quality for the particular clinical task.
