GE Healthcare to investigate the performance of MBIR

GE Healthcare, a $17 billion unit of General Electric Company (NYSE:GE), announced today a multi-center study to investigate the performance of Model Based Iterative Reconstruction (MBIR) as a method to maintain or improve diagnostic information available to clinicians while dramatically lowering radiation dose in routine CT imaging.

Over the past several years, CT has continued to demonstrate value due to its versatile diagnostic capability, non-invasive application and ability to visualize fine anatomic detail. Innovative new technologies have provided the ability to reduce dose exposure tremendously. GE believes further advancements in HD Technologies, like MBIR, offer potential for another leap in resolution and reduction of patient dose – even below the level of today’s CT scanners.

MBIR uses an iterative model-based technique to reconstruct images with lower noise and higher resolution beyond the standard of traditional technologies, including filtered back projection and image-based noise reduction approaches. Due to limitations in computing power and reconstruction technology, model-based iterative approaches have not been practical for commercial CT scanners to date. The Discovery CT750 HD was the first scanner to use an iterative reconstruction approach, called ASiR™ (Adaptive Statistical Iterative Reconstruction) and demonstrated the ability to acquire remarkable images at lower dose. MBIR offers the potential to further enhance image quality at even lower radiation doses. The intent of this multi-center study is to investigate the level of performance that can be achieved with ultra-low radiation dose CT imaging enabled with MBIR for a variety of conditions in the brain, chest and abdomen.

“Providing better information to clinicians through High Definition CT images, while at the same time reducing patient dose, has been core to our priorities,” said Steve Gray, Vice President and General Manager, Computed Tomography. “The introduction of ASiR in 2008 established GE’s leadership in this area. Our belief is that MBIR will extend our leadership in High Definition/Low dose CT imaging. We are excited to partner with leading medical institutions to investigate the performance of ultra-low dose CT scanning using MBIR.”

Leading medical institutions across the globe, including Duke University School of Medicine, University of Washington Medical Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, Mount Sinai Medical Center, University Hospital of Wales, Keio University Hospital, LMU Munich, AZ St-Jan Brugge and Beijing Hospital intend to participate in the study.

“Future technical advances, such as MBIR, could be extremely valuable to enable substantial reductions in radiation dose while maintaining diagnostic quality. Dose reduction is a benefit in any region of the body at any age CT is performed, but especially in children for whom multiple examinations might be necessary. Multi-institutional studies are an important way to help evaluate MBIR, maintaining our responsibility both to our profession and our patients for technology development and assessment,” said Donald P Frush, MD, FACR FAAP, Professor of Radiology and Pediatrics at Duke University Medical Center.

"Model-Based Reconstruction techniques have the potential for significant improvements in spatial and contrast resolution, at the same or lower radiation doses than are currently standard for CT imaging. We are excited about the potential of MBIR to address challenging areas of neurological imaging,“ said Michael Lev, MD, Director of Emergency Neuroradiology at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Patient enrollment in this multi – center study is planned to commence in the summer of 2010 and results will be published the following year.