A component of Philips Azurion Image Guided Therapy System, Philips SmartCT application software was announced by Philips Healthcare after its 510(k) clearance was issued by U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

It  provides interventionalists with CT-like 3-D images using cone beam CT from a sweep of the angiography system C-arm to support diagnosis, therapy planning, treatment and follow-up for interventional cardiology or radiology cath lab procedures. 

SmartCT helps to improve clinical confidence, smooth out workflow, and increase productivity. It also brings precise touch screen controls for enhanced 3-D image acquisition, visibility, vessel / organ separation, and quantity measurements on the side of the table, within the barren area of ​​the intervention lab. It also integrates important laboratory systems and tools needed for complex intervention procedures in an uncluttered laboratory environment where interventions can focus on treating the patient rather than being interrupted by technology.

SmartCT fully integrates Azurion platform control over a touch screen tablet located next to the radiology table. This eliminates the need for doctors to leave the field blank and enter the control room nearby, as well as to support decision-making quickly and efficiently.

“A key part of our image-guided therapy strategy is to combine high-quality, low X-ray dose imaging with a superior user experience that allows interventional radiologists to diagnose and treat patients as part of smoother, safer and less interrupted workflows,” said Ronald Tabaksblat, general manager image guided therapy systems at Philips. 

He added that Philips SmartCT is a major step forward in 3-D imaging, enhancing confidence in the interventional suite and supporting key elements of the quadruple aim of better patient outcomes, enhanced patient and staff experiences and lower cost of care.

“Changing to a new technology can be challenging, but if the system itself can show you the way, it makes it much easier to adopt new advances,” Prof. Hicham Kobeiter, chief of radiology and interventional radiology, Hôpitaux Universitaires Henri-Mondor in Créteil, France. 

Prof. Hicham stated that the new software leads through each step of the procedure, bringing us more confidence and more precision across cardiovascular, oncology and emergency cases.

With SmartCT, users are guided through the image acquisition process and can review and collaborate with CT-like 3-D acquired images in a table-side touch screen module using 3D visualization and measurement tools. These tools are designed to support procedures in a wide range of clinical settings, including neurology, oncology, and cardiac procedures, and incorporate two precise two-point measurements into 3D images, the ability to remove structures from images that impede the region of interest. , as well as the ability to select and maintain high projection angles to be remembered during processes.

The Philips SmartCT imaging, imaging and measurement software is an integral part of the next generation of the Philips Azurion Image Guided Therapy System, launched in September 2020, marking an important step forward in improving clinical and operational laboratory performance and enhancing the image role. -directed interventions in the treatment of patients. Azurion has gained rapid worldwide discovery, demonstrating accelerated non-invasive surgical trends due to its benefits in terms of reducing patient trauma, shorter recovery times and hospital stay, and lower health care costs.