In a conventional system with its point x-ray source, any object within the patient casts a shadow on the detector, resulting in a shadowgram image. In NovaRay’s system, any object within the patient is imaged from many different angles as the x-ray source scans. In 1/30th second, the ScanCath detector captures a small-field-of-view image from each of up to 9,000 discrete locations on the scanning x-ray source. Depth information is captured in these many images and slices are simultaneously reconstructed, each separated by approximately one centimeter. NovaRay believes ScanCath is the only cardiac catheterization system that can capture and display multi-slice images in real time.

Eliminating Anatomical Clutter

Images from conventional cardiac catheterization systems contain clutter from other anatomical parts through which the x-ray beam passes, which interferes with cardiac imaging. Using the NovaRay system, interventional cardiologists can select any individual slice in order to focus on a particular vessel within the heart. They can also combine any group of slices into a volume-of-interest image, for example, looking at the entire cardiac anatomy while removing the overlying ribs and spine.