GE’s SilCool* LTR Silicone Helps GE’s LightSpeed VCT Scanner Dissipate Heat Generated by World’s Fastest Volumetric Imaging of the Heart

Headquartered in the United Kingdom, GE Healthcare is a $15 billion GE business. It provides a broad range of products and services that are enhancing patient care by enabling healthcare providers to better diagnose and treat heart disease, cancer, neurological diseases, and other conditions. When the company was developing its LightSpeed volume computed tomography (VCT) scanner - a GE Imagination Breakthrough device for cardiac imaging - it became clear that the high heat generated by the device’s exceptionally fast electronics required a new dissipation strategy. GE Healthcare selected SilCool* LTR silicone from GE - Silicones to offer the rapid conduction of heat away from the LightSpeed circuit board and allow the scanner to operate with record-setting speed and precision.

The Challenge: Efficient Thermal Transfer to Support Faster Electronics

To achieve faster speeds and higher performance, today’s electronic devices depend on circuit boards that deliver ever-higher amounts of processing power. But the downside of more power is the generation of more heat, which poses the risk of damage to semiconductor chips. For an enormously powerful medical device like the LightSpeed VCT scanner from GE Healthcare – which rapidly generates double-width, high-resolution, three-dimensional images of the heart – effective heat dissipation from the chips is essential.

“Our LightSpeed VCT scanner is a GE Imagination Breakthrough product for cardiac imaging,” said Scott Schubert, LightSpeed VCT Global Product Manager, GE Healthcare. The device, which was introduced in 2004, has set the world record for fastest volumetric imaging. Its .35-second rotation and 40 mm coverage allows true volumetric scanning of the heart in just five heartbeats. In a single rotation, the LightSpeed VCT creates 64 sub-millimeter images that are combined into a 3-D view of the patient’s anatomy for physicians to analyze.

“To support these next-generation capabilities, we needed a new approach to thermal dissipation that could transfer large quantities of heat very rapidly to a heat sink,” he continued. “Further, we needed a material capable of maintaining a tightly controlled temperature range during machine calibrations to protect the sensitive electronics from distortion that could affect image accuracy.”

The Solution: GE’s SilCool LTR Silicone Adhesive Helps Protect the “Heart” of the Scanner

GE Healthcare worked with GE - Silicones to identify an ideal material candidate for this demanding application. GE’s SilCool LTR low thermal resistance silicone, which is used to encapsulate the chips on the LightSpeed circuit board, offers excellent adhesion to both the die and heat sink combined with extremely low thermal resistance. The material also provides good dielectric properties and low viscosity, enabling it to flow easily around the chips. Of particular importance to the LightSpeed scanner, whose results can be skewed by ionic charge, SilCool LTR adhesive helps minimize ionic contamination.

The Benefits: Breakthrough Cardiac Imaging for Improved Patient Care

By providing superior heat dissipation capabilities for the LightSpeed VCT scanner’s electronics, GE’s SilCool LTR adhesive helps enable its increased power and speed that produce detailed images of the heart. With excellent resolution and coverage, the scanner’s images give physicians a new tool for diagnosis and treatment planning.

Thanks to its record-breaking coverage speed, the LightSpeed VCT has the capability to attain 43-millisecond temporal resolution. This means doctors can effectively freeze the motion of the heart, which may lead to a more accurate diagnosis and treatment of heart disease and other life threatening illnesses. For example, patients exhibiting acute chest pain can be diagnostically scanned quickly and non-invasively for evidence of heart attack, pulmonary embolism, or aortic dissection – the three most life threatening causes of chest pain - with one scan. The ability to identify the cause of acute chest pain can help prevent missed diagnoses and potentially eliminate unnecessary hospital stays.

According to W. Dennis Foley, M.D., Chief of Digital Imaging at Froedtert Hospital in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where the first LightSpeed VCT scanner was installed, "This system provides unprecedented image quality almost instantaneously, which should provide significant impact on cardiovascular medicine and trauma," he said. "The LightSpeed VCT also should improve imaging in neurology, oncology, and other fields."

In addition to dissipating heat during the operation of the scanner, GE’s SilCool LTR silicone helps ensure image accuracy by maintaining a tightly controlled temperature range during machine calibration and examination.

"To support GE's focus on the healthcare market, GE - Silicones offers a wide array of electronic component materials for assembly, protection and enhancement of medical devices," said Eric Luftig, Global Healthcare Marketing Manager, GE - Silicones. "SilCool LTR adhesive is a key product for the healthcare market because it provides a powerful solution to heat management in medical electronics. SilCool LTR adhesive can enable device manufacturers to overcome the hurdle of increasing heat generation in tomorrow's electronic designs."

Other applications for GE’s SilCool LTR silicone adhesive include positron emission tomography (PET) scanners and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) devices.

Details at:

www.gehealthcare.com

Reader enquiries

GE Bayer Silicones GmbH & Co. KG
Building V7
51368 LEVERKUSEN
Germany

Robert Scheib
robert.scheib@ge.com

Tel: +49 214 306 71 37
Fax: +49 214 306 71 26
Germany
+49 214 306 71 37
robert.scheib@​ge.com
www.ge.com

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Notes for editors

About GE - Advanced Materials

The Advanced Materials business of General Electric Company is part of the Industrial business group and is headquartered in Wilton, Conn. Comprised of Silicones and Quartz, GE - Advanced Materials is a global leader in providing a range of high-technology materials solutions. The GE - Advanced Materials, Silicones’ portfolio includes silicone-based products and technology platforms, silanes, sealants and adhesives. The Quartz portfolio includes high-purity fused quartz and ceramics materials. These materials solutions are used as catalysts for innovation in hundreds of consumer and industrial applications ranging from car engines to biomedical devices to integrated circuits. Markets served include aerospace, agriculture, appliances, automotive, construction, electronics, furniture and furnishings, healthcare, home care, industrial, lighting, packaging, personal care, plastics, semiconductor, telecommunications, tire, transportation, and water purification. As a Worldwide Partner of the Olympic Games, GE is the exclusive provider of a wide range of innovative products and services that are integral to a successful Games. Experience more at www.ge.com/advancedmaterials.

* SilCool is a trademark of General Electric Company