The software uses AI to extract plaque details from dual-source and photon-counting CT studies, aiming to streamline CAD evaluation and reduce unnecessary cath lab referrals.
At the 2025 meeting of the Radiological Society of North America, Siemens Healthineers announced Syngo.CT Coronary Cockpit, a new software solution within the Syngo.via platform designed to support the management of coronary artery disease (CAD) for both dual-source and photon-counting CT scanners.
As the leading cause of death globally and a major contributor to disability, CAD continues to pose a global health challenge. This drives increasing demand for diagnostic and treatment planning tools that are both efficient and minimally invasive. Syngo.CT Coronary Cockpit aims to address these needs by providing automated plaque analysis.
“There is a lot of information that is locked within CT images. Syngo.CT Coronary Cockpit is an automated tool that provides a fast approach to unlock this information to include it in our everyday clinical routine,” says Dr Balint Szilveszter, Heart and Vascular Centre, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary, in a release. “The information can be used for optimizing medical therapy or to plan PCI procedures before even entering the cath lab.”
Traditionally, patients with suspected or known CAD are often referred to the cath lab for diagnostic procedures, even though many of these could be avoided. Advances in cardiac CT, particularly with dual-source and photon-counting CT scanners, have made non-invasive coronary CT angiography a frontline diagnostic tool. Studies have shown that using CCTA with the Naeotom Alpha CT scanner from Siemens Healthineers, combining photon-counting technology with dual-source, can more than halve referrals for diagnostic angiography, lower costs, and shorten hospital stays.
Syngo.CT Coronary Cockpit also characterizes both the amount and the morphology of coronary plaque through AI-based segmentation, labeling, and visualization. Information such as plaque composition, size, and distribution supports clinicians in better assessing risk and selecting the most appropriate treatment, whether medical management or intervention.
“With Syngo.CT Coronary Cockpit, we combine our expertise in CT imaging and interventional therapy to help people with coronary artery disease live longer, healthier lives,” says Philipp Fischer, head of computed tomography at Siemens Healthineers, in a release. “This joint approach paves the way for a future where CT not only diagnoses but actively guides treatment decisions. It marks an important step toward CT-guided PCI and brings us closer to personalized, minimally invasive care.”
Photo caption: Syngo.CT
Photo credit: Siemens Healthineers
