CT dose reduction technology uses military technology

December The CereTom portable CT scanner is remarkable, but the latest improvement to the remarkable machine comes entirely through software – it’s a Noise/Dose Reduction solution for medical imaging. NeuroLogica’s CT post reconstruction filter is similar to military synthetic aperture radar systems which filter out “noise” while preserving signal quality to thus better “see” objects. These algorithms are computationally intensive but thanks to Moore’s Law and the advent of ever faster, inexpensive computers, we’ll inevitably see many new smarts being added to existing machines. The ingenious solution reduces image noise while preserving spatial resolution and noise texture. The advantage offered by the technology is in significantly reducing accumulated exposure of critical and pediatric patients to radiation without sacrificing image quality.

“This breakthrough technology represents a significant step toward making NeuroLogica’s CereTom portable CT a standard-of-care in critical care & pediatric imaging,” said Dr. Eric M. Bailey, CEO/President of NeuroLogica. “Accumulated exposure to radiation, particularly tied to CT scans, has been a growing topic of public concern. By reducing the dose of CT radiation without sacrificing diagnostic image quality, the CereTom portable CT will provide a significant clinical advantage in diagnosing and treating critical care and pediatric patients. Such a significant reduction in dose provides clinicians more flexible scanning options without the risks typically associated with multiple high resolution scans.”

“The processed images have superior signal to noise ratio,” said Dr. Rajiv Gupta, M.D Assistant Radiologist; Department of Neuroradiology for Massachusetts General Hospital. “While the lesions are more visible because of better signal to noise ratio, they are never processed out of the image.”

NeuroLogica will present the new technology this week at the 94th Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).