Current Generation of CT Scanners

Student Judd · Joined: 14 May 2008 Posts: 4

This is my first post on this forum but I have been lurking on the sidelines since before I started my RT classes.
My first assignment (term paper wise) is to do and Intro on Computed Tomography. I’ve found a few books at the school library but wonder how current they are. One was published in 2002 and the newest one I could find was published in 2003.

My question

The book states that there are two general CT designs in common use.. 3rd Generation Scanners with a coupled tube assembly and detector array, and 4th Generation Scanners with a rotating tube assembly and a fixed array of several thousand detectors.
Is this still the case? Is there 5th or 6th Generation machines being used today?

One thing I found while researching that was very interesting was the connection CT has with the Beatles (EMI)

Any help will be greatly appreciated

papa · Posted: Tue May 20, 2008 1:56 pm Post subject:

depends on who you talk to...

i've actually been doing some reascearch on the side on the history of CT, and this is what i have so far:

1967 Hounsfield concieves idea for CT

1968 invention of CT EMI Scanner (named for the record company funding the rescearch - funds from record sales of the beatles) Hounsfield

1970 1st generation scanner (pencil beam)

1972 2nd generation (partial fan beam) and first production of CT image Hounsfield

1973 - first whole body scanner, and first scanner that did not need water bath 0100 ACTA Scanner (automated computerized transverse axial) Ledley (DDS)

1976 3rd generation scanner (rotating tube and detector)

1978 4th generation (rotating tube, stationary detector array)

1985 Slip ring technology, and a one second scan

1989 (around) EBCT imaging for the heart (some consider 5th generation)

1989 Spiral CT 6th generation (3rd and 4th generation scanners)

1991 Twin Detector Elsent

1995 Sub Second scanning

1998 MDCT

1999 Half second scan

2001 PET/CT fusion

2002 16+ slice CT

2005 Siemens introduced dual X-ray tube and dual array of 64 slice detectors, at the 2005 RSNA

2007 RSNA, Toshiba announces Aquilion ONE, first scanner to image heart in one rotation (320 slice), minimum detector width of 0.5mm, 16cm coverage

now, granted, i'm going off the internet, and what other people have told me before, so i'm not 100% sure this is all exactly acurate, but it definately gives you an idea. the book that was published in 2003 may have just barely touched on MDCT, and i'm almost sure it doesn't go into cardiac scanning that much. before MDCT, everybody was trying to get the fastest scanner, and the only thing they new to speed up was the tube rotation. MDCT came around in the late nienties, but i didn't see my first MDCT untill 2001. and even then, very few people had them. 2002 - 2003 they started to pick up a little. before that, single slice baby.

anybody work on the picker 3200(?)? boy was that a piece of work...

papa RTRCT
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papa RT(R)(CT) Mr. Green

Delusional Radiology
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Student Judd · Joined: 14 May 2008 Posts: 4

Papa

Thanks so much for your reply to my post. Very impressive timeline, quite informative.
I’m sure I’ll be back with plenty more questions having just started my RT education program this spring. I’m glad that I found this forum.

Thanks again,

Judd Very Happy