More reliable diagnosis and new treatment options for the patients
Highly efficient and maximum tissue protection
The aim of all minimally invasive treatment concepts is to offer patients maximum treatment effectiveness through precise navigation while at the same time protecting healthy tissue as much as possible, said Prof. Dr. med. Attila Kovács, one of the world’s most experienced experts in minimally invasive therapies.
“This works better than ever with the new CT scanner. This is because dual-energy technology has several advantages over conventional CT with conventional imaging. Material differentiation is significantly better, the radiation dose is much lower and the examination time is also drastically reduced. In addition, the quality and safety of the diagnostics are so good that repeat examinations are unnecessary in many cases. So everyone involved really benefits from the new technology,” says Prof. Dr Attila Kovács
We are now achieving a whole new standard of quality in diagnosis and treatment – so that we can, for example, isolate particularly malignant and dangerous tumour areas even better and then treat them accordingly,” says Prof. Dr Kovács.
These are primarily so-called keyhole procedures, which are particularly gentle for patients. The WEGE Klinik is now recognised worldwide for this exceptional form of therapy.
Unique in Germany
The WEGE Klinik is the first clinic in Bonn to have a Philips 7500 spectral CT scanner. The combination of the dual-energy CT scanner with a CAS-One IR stereotactic navigation system for the minimally invasive treatment of patients is only available in Germany at the WEGE-Klinik.
Better distinguish between different diseases
‘With DECT, structures that were previously represented uniformly in grey with a similar X-ray density appear clearly differentiated in colour. This leads to both improved sensitivity – the ability to reliably find diseases – and an increase in specificity – the ability to better distinguish between different diseases.’
‘That means for the patient: Not only do we find out with greater certainty whether there is a problem, we also know more precisely what the problem is!’
‘Higher sensitivity enables us to reduce the radiation dose; higher specificity allows us to use a significantly smaller amount of iodine-containing CT contrast agent.
“Good news for patients: Not only can they expect an improved quality of diagnosis of their complaints, but the physically stressful elements of CT imaging, radiation dose and iodine administration, can also be significantly reduced.
Professor Kovacs is an experienced interventionalist who, in addition to diagnostics, has also specialised with his team in the micro-invasive treatment of a wide range of diseases, including the treatment of benign organ enlargements, such as benign prostate enlargement or benign tumours of the uterus, as well as the treatment of malignant neoplasms in organs such as the liver, through to bloodless interventions on inflamed joints, e.g. in cases of osteoarthritis of the knee.
‘The DECT will also help us with microinvasive therapy in the future, because the same advantages naturally come into play here – reduction of the radiation dose and improved visualisation of the target to be treated,’ explains the professor. ‘The new scanner will also support us in important future projects – we are currently working on new methods of tumour control, namely the targeted introduction of customised tumour therapeutics into the malignant tissue with the help of so-called electrochemotherapy.’
The WEGE Clinic now indeed has new avenues open to it, and we can look forward to seeing what projects Professor Kovacs and his team will manage for the benefit of patients in the future.
More about Spectral CT
Wanted to know more
More informationContact us for an appointment
Contact usFAQ´s
What makes the new procedure so special?
The dual-energy technology of the Spectral CT 7500 from Philips already offers a whole range of advantages in diagnostics. The imaging of spectral technology is a real game changer and significantly expands the previously known computer tomography. Previously, there were the three dimensions of space and, as a fourth dimension, the density of the tissue. Now a fifth dimension has been added: spectral absorption.
What advantage does this bring?
Thanks to spectral absorption, we can finally assess what classical computer tomography has so far failed to do, namely the atomic composition of the tissue being examined. Iodine, calcium, metal, blood clots – all of these can now be categorised with precision. The advantages for everyday diagnostics are obvious: we can now specifically suppress interfering high-contrast structures, such as calcifications or metal implants, so that vascular constrictions can be assessed despite arteriosclerosis. Patients with joint prostheses and other implants, such as pacemakers and defibrillators, can also be examined without any problems.
How does that work?
Structures that were previously represented uniformly in grey with a similar X-ray density can now be clearly distinguished from each other in colour – this is due to the limited greyscale perception of the human eye compared to colour perception. In medical diagnostics, this gives us two advantages that cannot be overestimated: On the one hand, spectral technology leads to improved sensitivity – i.e. the ability to better detect diseases. On the other hand, it also leads to an increase in specificity – the more reliable classification of the disease found, for example whether it is benign or malignant, and other details. First and foremost, our patients benefit from this because they are spared uncertainties, delays and multiple examinations. In short: during the initial examination, we not only find out with greater certainty whether there is a problem, we also know more precisely what the problem is.
Does this also make the examinations less stressful?
Yes, that is a very important point that cannot be emphasised often enough. The higher sensitivity and specificity allow us to avoid multiple examinations and thus reduce the radiation dose and save on contrast agents. So this is good news for patients: they can expect an improved quality of diagnosis of their complaints, while at the same time we can significantly reduce the physically stressful elements of CT imaging, such as radiation dose and iodine administration. As virtual non-contrast images can now also be calculated from a single phase, we can save many multi-phase examinations. This also protects patients.
You are the first and so far only clinic in Germany to combine Spectral CT from Philips with stereotactic navigation from Cascination for minimally invasive therapies. How do you benefit from this?
As is generally known, our internationally recognised expertise is in minimally invasive precision medicine. And just as spectral technology is a game changer in diagnostics, it also provides us with a quantum leap in so-called keyhole interventions. To put it in a nutshell: The best stereotactic navigation can only be as good as the three-dimensional image material that is available. We are therefore making targeted use of the new quality of spectral imaging, for example in cancer therapy, to effectively and precisely kill tumours that are difficult to access and are gentle on the patient. Thanks to the smart combination of high-end technologies, we are well on the way to new dimensions in local tumour control. Analogous to these innovations in image control, we can also offer completely new procedures in interventional oncology: for example, electrochemotherapy, or “ECT” for short – here, customised tumour therapeutics are directed precisely into the malignant tissue using electric shocks. And all this with maximum protection of the surrounding tissue. We are proud of the fact that we were the first in the world to carry out this form of therapy with combined spectral and stereotactic control. This really is a milestone in the treatment of cancer.
But it's not just cancer patients who benefit from minimally invasive treatment options, is it?
That is correct. There is a much wider range of applications, including the treatment of benign organ enlargements such as benign prostate enlargements or benign tumours of the uterus. Malignant neoplasms in organs such as the liver can also be treated very well using minimally invasive techniques. The spectrum extends to bloodless procedures on inflamed joints, for example arthrosis of the knee, painful shoulder, tennis elbow and golfer’s elbow. In all these procedures, we naturally benefit from the new possibilities offered by the combination of Spectral CT from Philips and stereotactic navigation via the CAS-One IR from Cascination. This gives us a whole new level of diagnostic certainty and allows us to explore new avenues in therapy. This is all the more important as diagnostic and interventional radiology is increasingly becoming an irreplaceable linchpin of modern medicine – there is virtually no therapy without prior imaging. This must be uncompromisingly reliable at the first attempt. And that is exactly what we can do.