2023 will bring a new way of scanning and strategies to boost workflow will continue to guide innovation for the years to come, Roy Verlaan, European Director for CT at Canon Medical Systems Europe, told VISIONS earlier this year.

The European CT market has expanded and the demand for midrange scanners has increased during recent years, pushed by the COVID-19 pandemic and the need to attend to larger cohorts of patients.

Canon Medical has responded to the challenge by delivering mobile CT scanners to hospitals and groundbreaking technology, such as Advanced intelligent Clear-IQ Engine (AiCE), a deep learning reconstruction that enables radiologists to obtain lower dose scans with improved image quality.

Recently, Canon Medical introduced PIQE, a deep learning reconstruction method designed to enhance spatial resolution and reduce image noise. The tool has been trained for cardiac imaging, but it has the potential to be expanded to other parts of the body, according to Roy.

‘We’ve taken yet another step into deep learning technology with PIQE,’ he said. ‘By incorporating ultra-high-resolution images into the deep convolutional neural network, we can achieve both spatial resolution improvement and noise reduction for cardiac applications. This allows users to better understand disease in cardiovascular patients, in whom CT is becoming the first line test.’

2022 also saw the introduction of SilverBeam, a new technology that allows lowering dose in lung scans. Used in combination with AiCE, SilverBeam can help to reduce dose without compromising image quality.

‘Our main areas of development will continue to match the growing trend for preventive healthcare,’ he said.

More than ever, imaging equipment manufacturers must help alleviate physicians’ burden, by offering them cutting edge solutions to boost workflow, Roy explained.

‘Radiology teams have to deal with shortage of staff, while the number of patients, elderly patients, and, thanks to treatment advances, follow-up scans continues to rise steadily. We still have a lot of patients to image in the backlog who had to interrupt their care journey during the pandemic,’ he said. ‘Our commitment is to help teams integrate all the imaging data that’s being acquired during an examination and make complex scanning procedures easier to perform, regardless of the user's experience.’

Roy Verlaan, 35, has worked for Canon Medical Systems Europe for the past eleven years. He started as an Application Specialist for CT and, in 2018, was appointed European Director of the CT business unit, his current role. Prior to that, he worked as a radiographer at Leiden University in the Netherlands for almost five years. A part time athlete, Roy enjoys running, cycling and handball, a discipline where he met his wife Britt.

Aquilion Serve and INSTINX: a new way of scanning

In 2023, Canon Medical will continue to provide meaningful innovations. A major step forward will be the introduction of a new midrange scanner, the new Aquilion Serve and the INSTINX platform at ECR 2023.

‘The system offers groundbreaking workflows from the patient setup to scanning and image reviewing,’ he said. ‘The Aquilion Serve is a new way of scanning that will expedite workflow in unprecedented ways.’

The Aquilion Serve is an 80-row scanner with two built-in gantry cameras for accurate patient positioning. It includes the new INSTINX platform, which is Canon Medical’s way of redefining workflow, and features AiCE and SilverBeam.

‘On the Aquilion Serve, we standardized and harmonized the scanning procedures, meaning more automation and less need for rescanning and more accurate scan planning,’ Roy said. ‘This advance enables the system to lower the dose and increase automation and output of hospitals.’

Future trends

In 20 years’ time, transitions that have already started are likely to be complete. AI, for example, will have a bigger impact in various aspects of the imaging workflow. Imaging and non-imaging data will be better integrated, while techniques like photon counting CT will enable tissue characterization and functional imaging, Roy predicted.

‘Screening programs are likely to continue and to be expanded, and so will the use of big data and the quest to make complex scanning procedures easier and faster,’ he added.

The trend in both the mid and long term is for more automation, as radiology departments must cope with an increasing number of patients who require medical imaging.

New technologies will support, not replace, radiologists and radiographers in their day-to-day activity, Roy insisted. ‘Someone will always need to be with the patient during the examination. Healthcare will always need a human touch, and working with patients will always require human interaction.’

Canon Medical has a significant role to play in this scenario and active listening is a must-have quality to develop pertinent solutions together with the clinicians and technicians.

'We will need to carefully listen and analyze these trends, understand what problems our users face and continue to ask questions to our users. What problem do we solve with our solutions and how can we provide meaningful innovations that actually change and improve patient management? By answering such questions through innovation, we will continue to support our users following our Made for Life philosophy,' he concluded.

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