New PET/CT scanner by Siemens gets FDA clearance

USA: The US Food and Drug Administration has given its clearance to the Siemens Healthineers' Biograph Vision Quadra -- a new PET/CT scanner with a large 106-cm axial field of view. The scanner is designed for clinical use as well as translational research – or the application of scientific research to create therapies and procedures that improve health outcomes.

Initially launched at the 2020 European Association of Nuclear Medicine (EANM) meeting, Biograph Vision Quadra is able to perform simultaneous whole-body imaging from the top of the head to the thigh. The system's 106-cm axial field of view is four times that of Siemens' Biograph Vision 600 scanner.

In addition to the 3.2 mm silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) detector technology and Time of Flight (ToF) performance that are cornerstones of the established Biograph Vision PET/CT scanner, the Biograph Vision Quadra has an extended 106 cm axial field of view (FoV), which is four times the PET axial FoV of the Biograph Vision 600. These technological features deliver significantly increased effective sensitivity¹ and allow the clinician to image the average patient dynamically from the top of the head to the thigh in just one position. Thanks to the scanner's extended axial FoV, the clinician can examine patient anatomy during radiopharmaceutical uptake over time.

The combination of SiPM detectors and extended axial FoV permits more anatomical coverage in one bed position than a standard PET/CT scanner, enabling fast scanning at low patient radiation dose.

"The Biograph Vision Quadra breaks through current clinical scanner limitations by simultaneously imaging all vital organs in a single field of view," John Khoury, Head of the Molecular Imaging business at Siemens Healthineers North America, said in a statement. "This new system helps open the door to better understand disease."

Since the Biograph Vision Quadra can be sited in the same clinical space as traditional PET/CT scanners, institutions do not need to build a large new room to house the scanner.