Siemens Head of Computed Tomography and Radiation Oncology

A special year, a special summit: 40 years after Siemens’ first computer tomograph, the SIRETOM, went into serial production in 1975, more than 300 dual source users from all over the world convened in Munich, Germany, for the 12th SOMATOM World Summit in the summer of 2015. It was an ideal opportunity to look back to a time in CT when a whole-body examination was a vision of the future, cardiac imaging was unimaginable, and when dose values below one millisievert were little more than a fantasy. And it provided time to discuss current issues as well as future trends and possibilities in computed tomography.

Dual source users from all over the world convened in Munich, Germany to share experiences.

Siemens Head of Computed Tomography and Radiation Oncology Walter Märzendorfer emphasized: “Together with our clinical research partners and customers, we have made things possible that others didn’t even dare to try.” He noted the most influential innovation in computed tomography of the last decade: Dual Source CT technology, which made it possible for the first time to confine the use of breath-holding and beta-blockers in many cases; not to mention the drastic reduction in dose levels. Märzendorfer is convinced the ongoing progress is making Siemens technology accessible to more and more people. Professor Willi Kalender, PhD, Director of the Institute for Medical Physics at Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg in Germany, reflected on how computed tomography – which many considered redundant after the market success of magnetic resonance tomography in the 1980’s – managed to continually find new fields of application thanks to spiral and multislice technology and to the fine-tuning of cardiac CT. He concluded that, “CT is not just thriving – CT is helping to save lives.” Where next on the path of progress? Thomas Flohr, PhD, Head of CT Physics, Application Predevelopment, and Global Clinical Collaborations at Siemens Healthcare weighed up the technical alternatives: There are still no suitable X-ray tubes for very sensitive phasecontrast CT, while the technology in photon-counting detectors is more promising. Flohr is optimistic that the direct conversion of X-rays into electrical signals will allow for imaging that is ultra-high resolution and ultra-low dose. The summit focused on “Dual Energy,” “Therapy,” and “Next four decades of CT” giving participants opportunities to discuss CT applications in the various clinical disciplines. “It’s a journey that we’ve taken together benefiting from the interplay of medicine, science, and industry over the past 40 years,” said Raghavan Dhandapany, Head of Sales and Marketing for Siemens Computed Tomography. The journey together continues.

The 12th SOMATOM World Summit was an ideal opportunity to look back on 40 years of Siemens CT.