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Medical Device & Diagnostic Industry Computed tomography is making a bid to recapture the high ground of medical imaging. A decade has passed since any significant changes have been made in either the technical or clinical capability of this technology, which some still refer to by the archaic acronym CAT (computerized axial tomography). Very soon, however, a new name—multislice CT—will enter the lexicon. This next-generation imaging technology creates slices of the body that are similar to ones first created some 25 years ago when CATs were introduced. The computer-generated slices cut across the body from side to side. But the way in which these machines make their slices, the number of slices they produce, and the resolution of the images are very different and promise to dramatically change the practice of medicine. Each of the new scanners being offered by GE Medical Systems, Siemens Medical Systems, and Picker International acquire four slices simultaneously, using advances in detectors, electronics, computer processing, and mechanical assemblies. A scanner to be produced by Toshiba is expected to offer approximately the same capabilities. Together, these developments could reinvigorate a lethargic marketplace. Over the past several years, CT sales have shifted decidedly from high-end systems toward competitively priced midrange units, which typically hover around $600,000 to $750,000. The year 1997 was a watershed for the industry. GE executives estimate that whereas 1997 sales in the premium end grew a mere 12%, sales in the low end rose 27% and midrange sales leaped 72%. The introduction of multislice CTs could rekindle interest in premium-performance scanners. "We've seen the awareness of CT grow exponentially in the entire medical imaging marketplace [since the launch of these multislice scanners]," says John Sandstrom, PhD, director of strategic marketing and CT for Siemens Medical Systems. "People want to know about multislice technology because