Bristol Royal Infirmary installs innovative hybrid SPECT-CT

Symbia T16 provides accurate information on tumour staging and metastases

Published: 09/15

ERLANGEN, GERMANY - (HealthTech Wire) - Bristol Royal Infirmary, part of University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust, has recently installed a Symbia T16 TruePoint SPECT-CT from Siemens Healthcare. The hybrid system combines a variable angle dual detector SPECT with a 16-slice CT for rapid, accurate attenuation correction and expanded coverage in CT scans.

The SPECT-CT yields particular benefits for oncology diagnosis, completing a full rotation in 0.5 seconds for rapid full body scanning. Bristol Royal Infirmary recently completed a series of lymphangiograms on the new system. High quality images of the lymph nodes allowed clinicians to accurately stage cancers and eliminate the need for total axilliary lymphatic clearance in suspected breast cancers. This means that lymph and sentinel lymph nodes could be removed in one day which will ultimately lead to less invasive surgery.

The high quality imaging of SPECT is complemented by Siemens 16-slice CT. Designed for optimum patient comfort, it features a low bed and complete set of arm and head rests for easy patient positioning. Its 70cm tunnel and weight capacity of 250kg means that the CT can accommodate claustrophobic and obese patients, or those with limited mobility.

The Symbia T16 has allowed us to gather greater information on tumours and metastatic spread and we hope to branch out into cardiology work on the new system in the near future, said Joanna Galpin, Superintendent Radiographer, Nuclear Medicine at Bristol Royal Infirmary. The capability of the fused images of SPECT and CT is a vast step forward in the accurate pinpointing of such a variety of diseases. We are also particularly pleased with the wide bore on the new CT as it has facilitated examinations on bariatric patients.

We are delighted that the new SPECT-CT is already yielding benefits for Bristol Royal Infirmarys cancer patients, said Lawrence Foulsham, Product Manager for Molecular Imaging & Oncology at Siemens Healthcare. As the only system in the range that offers vascular imaging, the Symbia T16 is also an advanced option for rapid applications in cardiology. We look forward to seeing the benefits that this will provide in the coming months.

The new system has advanced capabilities in cardiology, carrying out calcium scoring for detailed images of the coronary arteries in less than 20 seconds irrespective of the heart beat.