Philips new PET/MR imaging system

Philips recently received CE marking for the industry’s first commercially available whole body PET/MR imaging system, the Ingenuity TF PET/MR**.  This new system, launched as the first new Philips modality in ten years, integrates the molecular imaging capabilities of PET (positron emission tomography) with the superior soft tissue contrast of MR (magnetic resonance) to image disease cells as they proliferate in soft tissue. Since the Ingenuity TF PET/MR scanners are placed only three meters apart and the patient table rotates to allow the patient to be scanned by each modality, the system can also acquire separate PET and MR images. Clinicians anticipate using the Ingenuity TF PET/MR to screen patients at high-risk for heart disease to ultimately treat diseased cells prior to the formation of dangerous coronary plaques. The system may also be used to scan patients to detect tumour formation/recurrence.  Studies on the system are ongoing at the University of Geneva, Switzerland; Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York; and FZD, Dresden, Germany. The system is pending 510(k) clearance and is currently not available for sale in the U.S.