RSNA 2025: Siemens Healthineers Advances Coronary Artery Disease Management

Siemens Healthineers introduced a new software solution for coronary artery disease (CAD) management this week at the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) Annual Meeting (Nov. 30-Dec. 4, Chicago).

Syngo.CT Coronary Cockpit,¹ a new software solution within the Syngo.via² platform, aims to help manage CAD for both dual-source and photon-counting CT scanners. As the leading cause of death globally and a major contributor to disability,³ CAD continues to pose a significant global health challenge. Such a challenge drives increasing demand for diagnostic and treatment planning tools that are both efficient and minimally invasive. Syngo.CT Coronary Cockpit addresses these needs by providing advanced, automated plaque analysis, Siemens Healthineers bigwigs claim. Critical details embedded in cardiac CT images thus become accessible, supporting clinical decision-making and intervention planning.

“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,” said Dr. Balint Szilveszter, Heart and Vascular Centre, Semmelweis University in Budapest, Hungary. “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 (CCTA) 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,⁴ thanks to its diagnostic value in assessing plaque visibility.

To further enhance diagnostic confidence, Syngo.CT Coronary Cockpit characterizes both the amount and the morphology of coronary plaque through artificial intelligence (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.

The Syngo.CT Coronary Cockpit integration with dual-source and photon-counting CT scanners from Siemens Healthineers enables high native temporal resolution and supports clinical accuracy and operational efficiency across the CAD pathway, according to the company. Having detailed anatomical and morphological information available before an interventional procedure may enhance cath lab efficiency and optimize resource utilization. By providing such insights in the cath lab, clinicians gain an overview of coronary anatomy and pathology. This additional insight supports more precise plaque assessment and can inform key intra-procedural decisions, such as lesion preparation, stent length, and landing-zone selection. Ultimately, this enables more patients to receive personalized care. The use of non-invasive CCTA supported by advanced analysis tools means faster, more precise diagnosis and treatment planning, with the potential to avoid unnecessary invasive procedures and their associated risks.

“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,” said Philipp Fischer, head of Computed Tomography at Siemens Healthineers. “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.”

Siemens Healthineers is a global provider of healthcare equipment, solutions, and services, with activities in more than 180 countries and direct representation in over 70. The group comprises Siemens Healthineers AG, listed as SHL in Frankfurt, Germany, and its subsidiaries. The company is principally active in imaging, diagnostics, cancer care, and minimally invasive therapies, augmented by digital technology and artificial intelligence. In fiscal 2025—ended Sept. 30—Siemens Healthineers employed approximately 74,000 workers worldwide and generated around €23.4 billion in revenue.

References
¹ Syngo.CT Coronary Cockpit is pending 510(k) clearance and is not yet commercially available in the United States.
² Syngo.via can be used as a standalone device or together with a variety of Syngo.via-based software options, which are medical devices in their own right. Syngo.via and the Syngo.via based software options are not commercially available in all countries. Due to regulatory reasons its future availability cannot be guaranteed. Please contact your local Siemens Healthineers organization for further details.
³ JACC: Global prevalence of coronary artery disease: an update from the global burden of disease study
⁴ https://doi.org/10.1148/radiol.231234, https://doi.org/10.1148/ryct.230022