General Electric is releasing a new CT scanner for laboratory work involving unlucky rodents. The unit can scan the speedy beating heart of a lab mouse with a shutter rate of over 600 clicks per minute.
From the press release:
The GE eXplore CT 120 scanner is an all-new design based on years of research CT scanner experience. Using x-ray source technology derived from clinical systems, the eXplore CT 120 features 100 times the output of previous GE laboratory research imaging systems. This power enables x-ray exposures fast enough and detailed enough to capture the motion of a beating mouse heart, and brings the power of cardiac CT imaging to a popular mammal used in disease research and drug development.
The power of the new x-ray source also allows for more effective filtering of the x-ray beam, reducing the x-ray dose to the research subject compared to previous scanners, while greatly reducing the scan time.
Features from the product page:
Rapid scans facilitated by a 5 kW pulsed high-output x-ray tube Application flexibility enabled by adjustable imaging parameters: Tube potential 70-120 kV, current up to 50 mA, exposure time as short as 8 ms Rodent cardiac imaging made possible by less than 1 millisecond pulse precision, capable of capturing over 600 beats per minute Multi-modality support built-in for hybrid imaging X-ray filtering reduces animal dose, decreases image artifacts
Press release: GE HEALTHCARE INTRODUCES NEWEST TECHNOLOGY IN PRECLINICAL COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY IMAGING…
Product page: eXplore CT 120…
