· Mobile workflow of new platform’s two systems – SOMATOM go.Now and SOMATOM go.Up – controlled via tablet and remotely to increase patient interaction
· New platform offers simpler, user-guided workflows for more standardized results and reduction of variability
· Platform’s unique single-room concept designed for lower installation costs and smaller, more efficient footprint
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared the SOMATOM go. computed tomography (CT) platform from Siemens Healthineers – an entirely new CT platform designed for highly diverse sets of user needs. Created with extensive customer feedback, the new platform includes the SOMATOM go.Now and SOMATOM go.Up CT scanners, which offer automated, standardized workflows that help users achieve more consistent, profound clinical results at a lower total cost of ownership. The tablet-based workflow concept facilitates more comprehensive patient care and allows radiology providers to use a cost-efficient single-room concept for the first time. With products and solutions such as the SOMATOM go. CT platform, as well as a new name that underlines the company’s pioneering spirit and engineering expertise, Siemens Healthineers – the separately managed healthcare business of Siemens AG – is helping healthcare providers worldwide meet current challenges and excel in their respective environments.
The 32-slice SOMATOM go.Now CT scanner is particularly suited to radiology providers who want to leverage a low-cost but clinically robust CT solution. With a wide detector that provides up to 64 slices, the SOMATOM go.Up offers faster scanning and tin filtration, which is particularly important for lung imaging (e.g., to screen for lung cancer). It also uses some of the lowest radiation doses achievable for a CT of this class. For this reason, the SOMATOM go.Up is ideally suited for organizations that want to expand their portfolio.
Co-developed with users
To collaboratively identify key characteristics of an ideal CT scanner, Siemens Healthineers held interviews and workshops with over 500 radiologists, radiologic technologists, and radiology administrators worldwide. The result, said Douglas Ryan, Vice President of Computed Tomography at Siemens Healthineers North America, “is a platform that offers unique capabilities that respond to the needs of today’s healthcare providers – including radiologic technologists, radiologists, and other physicians – utilizing groundbreaking GO. Technologies based on mobile, tablet interface. These technologies elevate quality, consistency, and standardization to dramatic new levels. The SOMATOM go.Now and SOMATOM go.Up will have a wide-ranging impact, targeting healthcare providers looking to maximize their healthcare delivery business.”
Users of the SOMATOM go. platform can control routine examinations using only the tablet and remote, paving the way for a new, mobile workflow. Standardized work steps allow users to run the scan with just a few inputs. Automated postprocessing facilitates efficient scanner operation with zero-click reconstruction tasks that enable technologists with wide-ranging proficiency to generate consistent, high-quality studies. The standardization also provides radiologists with greater assurance regarding diagnostic image quality, helping them avoid errors and repeat scans, and thus unnecessary wait times.
At the patient’s side
The new usage concept at the heart of the SOMATOM go. scanners offers other advantages. Since workflow can be controlled via tablet, staff must no longer move between the scanner and control room. Technologists can remain with patients during scan preparation, which can make the experience more pleasant, particularly for children.
Since all computer hardware formerly located in the control room is now integrated into the gantry, SOMATOM go. scanners can be controlled on the move, enabling a flexible room concept. Rather than require two or three rooms for the scanner, the control unit, and possibly additional technology, SOMATOM go. systems can be installed in one room with a minimum size requirement. With this setup, a shielded niche can sufficiently protect radiology staff. This room concept drastically reduces installation costs.
All-in-one service package
The SOMATOM go. platform’s holistic service approach – the Siemens Healthineers Connect Plan – focuses on remote diagnostic and service capabilities, online training, and novel concepts for extended spare parts coverage. This solution optimizes financial performance and enables highly reliable operation. For example, the new Chronon® X-ray tube is designed for a long lifespan to relieve customers’ financial burden. Innovative remote service also significantly reduces downtime, and customers can install many upgrades remotely at their discretion without disrupting scanner operation.
The clinically relevant features of the SOMATOM go. platform are particularly important for many routine applications – and in this case, allow users to expand their portfolio. A new Stellar detector with integrated electronics, coupled with spectral tin filters previously available only on the company’s most advanced single- and dual-source CT scanners, are included as standard. For vascular imaging, the Chronon tube is designed to deliver High Power 80 – another feature migrated from the premium CT segment – which uses low 80 kV tube voltages at high mA to potentially reduce radiation dose and optimize usage of iodine contrast.
Contact for journalists
Jeff Bell
Siemens Healthineers
Phone: (610) 448-6348; E-mail: jeffrey.t.bell@siemens-healthineers.com
Siemens Healthineers is the separately managed healthcare business of Siemens AG enabling healthcare providers worldwide to meet their current challenges and to excel in their respective environments. A leader in medical technology, Siemens Healthineers is constantly innovating its portfolio of products and services in its core areas of diagnostic and therapeutic imaging and in laboratory diagnostics and molecular medicine. Siemens Healthineers is also actively developing its digital health services and enterprise services. To help customers succeed in today’s dynamic healthcare marketplace, Siemens Healthineers is championing new business models that maximize opportunity and minimize risk for healthcare providers. In fiscal 2016, which ended on September 30, 2016, Siemens Healthineers generated revenue of €13.5 billion and net income of over €2.3 billion and has about 46,000 employees worldwide. Further information is available at www.siemens.com/healthineers.
