Rambam Health Care Campus (Rambam) has installed one of the first StarGuide GX systems, an advanced nuclear medicine imaging platform developed by GE HealthCare.
The StarGuide GX is designed to improve image quality, shorten examination times, and support the growing field of theranostics, in which molecular imaging and targeted radioactive therapies are increasingly integrated.
The technology uses a highly sensitive ring-shaped detector with simultaneous multi-angle scanning to produce three-dimensional images with up to twice the sensitivity of previous-generation scanners in significantly less time. The system is designed to improve diagnostic accuracy while helping reduce radiation exposure.
“Nuclear medicine is both an imaging and therapeutic field,” says Professor Zohar Keidar, director of Rambam's Department of Nuclear Medicine & PET/CT. “We use materials with unique properties to detect and treat processes and diseases occurring inside the body,” he adds. The new scanner reduces cardiac scans from 20 minutes to 6, shortens full-body bone scans from 30 minutes to 20, and cuts follow-up imaging for patients receiving radioactive treatment for prostate cancer from 45 to just 8 minutes.
Keidar explains that nuclear medicine enables physicians not only to diagnose disease, but also to observe radioactive therapeutic treatments in action. “For example, if you take antibiotics, you don’t actually know where the medication reaches—we hope it reaches the infection site. With radioactive therapeutic materials, however, physicians can see exactly where the treatment travels, measure its concentration and distribution, and assess how tumors respond to therapy."
He adds that physicians inject a radioactive substance that binds directly to cancer cells, allowing the scanner to rapidly identify and map the targeted disease sites while simultaneously attacking malignant tissue from within through emitted radiation. “Early post-treatment imaging may provide important information about biodistribution and likely treatment effectiveness, allowing clinicians to adjust management earlier when needed. In cancer care, that time can be critical.”
Alongside its medical potential, Keidar stresses that the challenge is not limited to diagnostic accuracy. “The goal is to work with the most precise materials possible, capable of detecting disease processes at the earliest stages so intervention can begin sooner,” he explains.
Shorter scan times greatly improve patient comfort and reduce anxiety, particularly for post-operative orthopedic patients, oncology patients, individuals with Parkinson’s disease, and young children who sometimes require sedation during imaging.
Rambam has begun scanning its first patients with the new system while evaluating its performance against previous-generation technologies. In addition, the scanner can support a wide range of nuclear medicine imaging, including cardiac, skeletal, and cancer-related applications.
Future Research
Beyond its current clinical applications, Rambam views StarGuide GX as a foundation for future research in nuclear medicine and targeted cancer therapy. The scanner’s high sensitivity may enable Rambam teams to evaluate experimental radioactive compounds, including next-generation materials designed to target cancer cells more precisely while limiting damage to nearby healthy tissue. “Thanks to its ability to scan radioactive particles that were previously almost impossible to map, Rambam can now participate in clinical studies involving treatments that have not yet reached the market,” says Professor Keidar.
For thousands of patients—young and old alike—this technological advancement offers faster, more precise, and more comfortable imaging with lower radiation exposure, while further strengthening Rambam’s role at the forefront of nuclear medicine.
Based on an article that first appeared on the ynet lifestyle website.
