More than 160 institutes and hospitals from 43 countries on all continents had submitted over 600 images, captured on Siemens CT scanners using the lowest possible radiation dose. The seven winners, selected by an international jury of experts, hail from China, England, France, Ireland, Macau, Singapore and the USA. As well as exhibiting a high quality standard, the images are impressive examples of how valuable diagnostic information can be obtained even at an extremely low dose.
Spurred on by the extraordinary success of the first competition for computed tomography (CT) images in 2010, Siemens had announced the "International CT Image Contest 2011". Customers using a CT scanner from the Somatom Definition family or a Somatom Emotion, Somatom Sensation or Somatom Spirit had the opportunity to present an international jury of recognized experts with clinical images in seven medical categories.
"For our first contest, the jury received around 300 clinical images from over 30 countries. We're delighted to have received more than twice as many submissions the second time around - a clear indication that dose reduction is a key issue for our customers on all continents around the world," sais Peter Seitz, Vice President Marketing CT, Siemens Healthcare, on awarding the prizes to the winners at the RSNA 2011.
The members of the jury were Professor Stephan Achenbach from Giessen-Marburg University (Germany), Professor Dominik Fleischmann from the Stanford University Medical Center (USA), Professor Elliot K. Fishman from the Johns Hopkins Hospital (USA), Professor Yutaka Imai from the Tokai University School of Medicine (Japan), Professor Zengyu Jin from the Peking Union Medical College (China), Professor Borut Marincek from the University Hospital's Case Medical Center in Cleveland (USA), Professor Maximilian Reiser from the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich (Germany), and Professor Uwe Joseph Schoepf from the Medical University of South Carolina (USA).
For the duration of the contest, between March and September 2011, a fan community comprising more than 4000 members discussed the submitted images on Facebook. In addition, all internet users could vote for their favorite picture in a public vote. The internet page devoted to the contest received 40 000 hits within eight months. The aim was to raise public awareness of the responsibility that manufacturers and radiologists have in relation to diagnostic radiation. More information on the International CT Image Contest including all clinical details and respective protocols are available at www.siemens.com/image-contest.
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About Siemens Healthcare
The Siemens Healthcare Sector is one of the world's largest suppliers to the healthcare industry and a trendsetter in medical imaging, laboratory diagnostics, medical information technology and hearing aids. Siemens offers its customers products and solutions for the entire range of patient care from a single source - from prevention and early detection to diagnosis, and on to treatment and aftercare. By optimizing clinical workflows for the most common diseases, Siemens also makes healthcare faster, better and more cost-effective. Siemens Healthcare employs some 51,000 employees worldwide and operates around the world. In fiscal year 2011 (to September 30), the Sector posted revenue of 12.5 billion euros and profit of around 1.3 billion euros.