Siemens also introduced the FDA-cleared Biograph mCT Flow PET/CT system, which is the first to offer continous motion scans, rather than step-and-shoot acquistions. It uses a magnetically levitated bed that moves the patient smoothly through the system’s gantry. A standard PET/CT scan can last 25 to 30 minutes, with the patient frequently falling asleep while the system acquires a bed position. When the bed shifts to the next scanning position, the patient is often startled, resulting in an image that is marred by motion artifacts. The patient also can feel anxiety during the lengthy scanning process, perceiving no progress until the bed shifts to a new scanning position. Siemens had to develop new ways to process the continuous flow of massive amounts of data from the scanner.  

The mCT Flow also removes the limits of the standard 16 cm scan area, which often requires image overlap for stitching and scanning additional areas that are not required. Rittman said this can lower radiation doses considerably, since the scan length can be set by the operator instead of using 16 cm increments.