Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic is the first place in North America to install an ultrafast PET/CT scanner the health system says will greatly boost its imaging quality, particularly for cancer diagnosis and treatment.
The Biograph Vision Quadra scanner, with a 106-centimeter-long PET/CT, is said to be the most sensitive machine available for clinical use and to reduce radiation exposure to patients. The device will also be used for imaging for inflammatory, cardiovascular and neurological diseases. The health system estimates it will lead to a tenfold improvement in imaging.
"This new scanner is literally an order of magnitude more powerful than our prior best PET/CT scanners, allowing for dramatic improvements in clinical practice while also opening whole new horizons," said Geoffrey Johnson, MD, PhD, chair of nuclear medicine in the radiology department at Mayo Clinic, in the Sept. 30 health system news release.