Advanced CT scanners from Canon Medical Systems UK selected for new £6.8 million imaging suite in Northern Ireland

Deep intelligence technologies to modernise cardiac, stroke & cancer services for patients   

Two top-of-the-range Artificial Intelligence (AI) assisted, spectral, wide-detector CT scanners will be supplied by Canon Medical Systems UK to Craigavon Area Hospital, part of Southern Health and Social Care Trust in Northern Ireland, for a £6.8 million ‘twin’ CT suite development. The new diagnostic imaging systems will help to improve the standard of care delivered to patients by cutting waiting times, expanding the range of local imaging services and providing enhanced image quality outputs for more certain, first-time clinical interpretations.

The advanced scanning protocols on the new spectral Canon Medical CT scanners will aim to improve stroke, cancer and cardiac imaging services offered to all Southern Health and Social Care Trust’s local catchment area. Presently, due to limited scanning capabilities, advanced scans like cardiac CT are outsourced and patients have to travel longer distances to obtain the scan. Providing advanced scanning onsite will not only improve service capacity but will also improve patient accessibility to diagnostic services closer to home.

The Aquilion ONE / PRISM Edition CT scanners will be capable of rapid and accurate detection of stroke via brain perfusion and AI technologies. Spectral CT scanning will reduce the requirement for follow-up appointments by allowing earlier characterisation of abnormalities which will also help in providing highly efficient cancer work-up. Advanced cardiac CT capabilities along with AI will also improve patient comfort and satisfaction by reducing requirement for invasive cardiac catheterisation procedures.

Billy Erwin, Account Manager at Canon Medical Systems UK states, “The development of the new twin CT suite with joint control room at Craigavon Area Hospital has been six years in the making.  We have been part of the project management team for the new CT facility build, guiding the room design, supporting safety features, and planning delivery access. This has aimed to reduce the stress on hospital clinical teams by ensuring smooth equipment planning and commissioning logistics. We are looking forward to playing a central role in delivering the CT technology and see it fulfil many clinical and efficiency benefits for the radiology team and patients served.”

The chosen Aquilion ONE / PRISM Edition CT scanners from Canon Medical UK are powered by technologies from the ‘Altivity’ suite of Deep Intelligence innovations for diagnostic imaging. This includes: Advanced intelligent Clear-IQ Engine (AiCE), a reconstruction technology delivering sharp, clear, and distinct images at high speed and low dose; and Deep Learning Spectral Reconstruction delivering energy separation and low-noise properties integrated into end-to-end workflow for routine protocols. This automatically reconstructs monochromatic images, material specific reconstructions, and iodine maps to provide the clinical images needed direct to the Canon Medical Vitrea™ visualisation applications.

Photo caption: Two top-of-the-range AI-assisted, spectral, wide-detector CT scanners from Canon Medical Systems UK have been ordered by Craigavon Area Hospital, part of Southern Health and Social Care Trust in Northern Ireland, for a £6.8 million ‘twin’ CT suite development.