Lower doses, faster scan times, higher sensitivity to find smaller lesions, and equipment affordability are on display by Philips through several new products, platforms and software announcements at SNMMI 2017. The annual meeting to showcase nuclear medicine and molecular imaging accomplishments is being held in Denver this week.

"The full potential of molecular imaging is now becoming a reality, and it's really exciting," Kirill Shalyaev, vice president and general manager of advanced molecular imaging at Philips Healthcare America, told HCB News.

His enthusiasm was very much evident at SNMMI this year as he and his colleagues presented innovations ranging from more powerful digital equipment to analytic software. Phillips is also presenting innovation forums on topics including digital PET applications in sports medicine and theranostics.
Top in its showcase this year is the Philips Vereos Digital PET/CT, which the company said is the world’s first fully digital PET/CT system. Philips worked in collaboration with the Wright Center of Innovation in Biomedical Imaging at Wexner Medical Center at Ohio State University on clinical application of the digital PET technology.

For example, scan times using the Vereos are up to ten times faster, according to Shalyaev. Also, the unit accomplishes this using about half the PET dose, which results in improved small lesion detectability.

The company also had its Astonish TF technology for enhanced image contrast, resolution, and quality on display with its Ingenuity TF PET/CT. The system features Philips' proprietary xPand5 quantification tools to assist in measuring and monitoring disease progression.

These technologies join CT advances, such as iPatient, iDose and metal artifact reduction for implants (O-MAR), to drive confidence and consistency through personalized patient-centric workflow.

Another Philip’s platform on display at the meeting was its IntelliSpace Portal 9.0. This latest edition of Philips' comprehensive, advanced visualization and analysis platform provides quantitative tumor tracking and treatment response tools.

It offers a streamlined workflow for follow‐up and analysis in oncology cases. IntelliSpace Portal 9.0 also provides enterprise‐wide access to a comprehensive suite of molecular imaging processing and review applications for general nuclear medicine, SPECT, SPECT/CT and PET/CT.

Phillips is also working on fine-tuning its SPECT solutions. Shalyaev noted the market is changing, with pressures on cost and reimbursement.

The company is focusing on its two camera units that are easier to site — about half the floor space as the previous model — and easier to service. This helps offer a better return on investment for nuclear medicine departments.

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