Premium CT Evaluation Criteria and Test Methods

Premium CT systems must be able to accommodate almost all patients and studies with minimal compromise. While the ability to perform routine studies is important, facilities invest in the technology for its ability to provide advanced applications while reducing radiation dose. However, the technology must fit into the clinical workflow and provide medically useful results. Therefore, the key goal for our testing is to look at the clinical utility of the advanced applications that are now becoming available.

The key difference between a premium model and a subpremium model is that the premium model has the ability to acquire physiologic data in addition to the morphologic data that CT has always provided. Using appropriate phantoms and demonstrations, we look at the clinical utility of the advanced applications. We consider the system’s ease of use, radiation dose, and image quality, as well as the diagnostic value of the additional information provided by the system.

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