With lower radiation, it can clearly see the branches of blood vessels. Most importantly, it is made in China and is the world's top CT!

What are you most worried about when having a CT scan? Is it because you are afraid that the test results won't be clear, or are you worried about the radiation dose you have "ingested"?

Here's some good news for you: The world's most advanced CT technology made in China has arrived - it can make the image so clear that even a tiny branch of a blood vessel can be seen, and it can also significantly reduce the radiation dose, making the examination safer!

Recently, United Imaging's independently developed CTuCTUltima, China's first photon counting spectrometer, has officially received the marketing approval from the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA). This marks China as one of the few countries in the world that have mastered this "next-generation CT technology", and United Imaging is also the first Chinese company to successfully put this "wonder tool" on the market.

Perhaps you feel overwhelmed when you hear the name "Photon Counting Spectral CT". Don't worry. You just need to know: This is a true revolution in the CT field in decades, and China has not fallen behind this time.

What exactly makes this thing so amazing? Traditional CT is being "downgraded in dimension"

Let's first talk about how a traditional CT works. You can imagine it as an "advanced X-ray machine". It doesn't take just one film of the human body, but many pictures in a circle, and then the computer assembles these images into a three-dimensional model.

However, traditional CT has a core "shortcoming". Its detector forms images indirectly. Photons must first be converted into visible light and then into electrical signals. This process is similar to that of an old-fashioned film camera, where information is prone to loss. Moreover, it does not distinguish the energy level of photons, and the images it "sees" are not detailed enough.

The photon-counting CT is like a direct upgrade to the "latest Leica digital camera". Its detector is made of semiconductors and can count each X-ray photon one by one, and also distinguish the energy of each photon.

Just this fundamental difference in principle brings about three overwhelming advantages: the "Ultra-high Definition" mode can be activated with one click, and the spatial resolution is extremely high; "Color" CT replaces "black and white" CT for direct multispectral imaging. Radiation dose drops "cliff-like", ultra-low dose imaging.

Its detector pixel area is only 1/9 of that of a traditional CT! This means that radiologists can see details that were previously invisible - such as the tiniest plaques on the walls of coronary arteries, the tiny structures in small pulmonary nodules, and the tiny branches of blood vessels in the brain... Many lesions can be precisely detected in their infancy, truly achieving "sharp eyes".

Traditional CT images are in black and white, and the colors of different tissues may be similar, which can easily cause confusion. Photon-counting CT is inherently capable of distinguishing photons of different energies, which is equivalent to adding "color" to CT images. It can easily distinguish and mark blood vessels, bones, soft tissue structures, contrast agents, etc., significantly enhancing the accuracy and specificity of diagnosis.

The greatest blessing for patients, especially those who need repeated examinations and children! Because it counts photons with extraordinary accuracy and there is no interference from invalid signals, it can obtain clearer images with less radiation dose. Data shows that its radiation dose can be reduced by 60% to 70% compared with traditional CT, and in some examinations, it can even be reduced by 90%! This is simply engraving the word "safety" on the machine.

The Road to Breaking the Wall: How China Can Tackle This "Tough Nut"

Such an amazing technology, why wasn't it popularized before? Because the technical barriers are just too high! Before United Imaging, only two foreign giants worldwide had achieved commercialization, and they had long monopolized this technology.

This breakthrough is actually a "mutual pursuit" between national strategy and enterprise innovation. It is a major project under the National Key research and development Program "Diagnostic and Therapeutic Equipment and Biomedical Materials" during the 14th Five-Year Plan period. United Imaging Healthcare took the lead in collaborating with top clinical hospitals such as Zhongshan Hospital Affiliated to Fudan University and Ruijin Hospital, as well as upstream and downstream enterprises in the industry chain and universities.

What difficulties did they overcome?

The entire machine system needs to be redesigned for the brand-new detector, and any slight change will have a domino effect.

When the pixels are small, the signal will weaken. What should be done about image noise? United Imaging independently developed innovative correction and reconstruction algorithms. Despite the weakening of the signal, it managed to process the image more clearly and with lower noise.

The amount of data generated by this machine is enormous, posing a huge challenge to the computer's processing capacity. United Imaging's technology has achieved ultra-high resolution imaging with full collimation coverage, which means that even hard-to-photograph parts like a beating heart can be clearly "frozen" in time.

It is more than just a new machine

At present, this domestically produced photon-counting CT from United Imaging has been installed in Zhongshan Hospital and Ruijin Hospital and has begun clinical research. This means that soon, Chinese patients will be able to use this epoch-making technology in person in top domestic hospitals.

Its significance is far more than just "another domestic device has been added". It proves that China's high-end medical equipment enterprises have the ability to keep pace with international giants in the most cutting-edge and top-notch fields, and even surpass them in the future.

From then on, in the era of precision diagnosis and treatment, doctors have more powerful weapons in their hands, and patients can also enjoy clearer, safer and more accurate medical services. This is the most tangible benefit that technological breakthroughs bring to ordinary people.

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