Siemens Healthineers has received clearance from the Food and Drug Administration for its Naeotom Alpha class of photon-counting computed tomography scanners.
The company unveiled the two scanners in December, touting the Naeotom Alpha.Pro and Naeotom Alpha.Prime as more affordable options to its original Naeotom Alpha photon-counting CT, which received FDA clearance in September 2021.
Related: Siemens unveils 2 new lower-cost photon-counting CTs
Photon-counting CT is a new technology that uses lower radiation doses than conventional CT and produces clearer images with fewer distortions.
Siemens Healthineers’ photon-counting CTs are the only commercially available scanners of their kind available for clinical use but competitors are working to bring their versions to market.
GE HealthCare and Philips Healthcare are developing their own versions of technology. Jay Saccaro, GE HealthCare's chief financial officer, said at an event last month that the company plans to seek regulatory approval for its product later this year.
Philips Healthcare is researching spectral photon-counting CT as part of a European Union-funded consortium and has developed a clinical prototype that has been installed at Lyon University Hospital in France. Spectral photon-counting CT is a more advanced version of photon-counting technology.
