AMSTERDAM, Sept. 28, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA), a leading
health technology company, today presented the results of a
Spectral CT scan of the tail vertebrae of Trix, a 66 million year
old Tyrannosaurus Rex dinosaur. Working with Leiden's Naturalis
museum in the Netherlands, Philips
offered to scan one of the world's most complete and best preserved
T. Rex skeletons. The aim of the scan was to evaluate how images of
Trix's tail vertebrae obtained using Philips' IQon Spectral CT
imaging differ from conventional CT images, and to provide a level
of detail not visible to paleontologists until now.
Trix, who was discovered in Montana,
USA, in 2013, was purchased by the Naturalis museum and
transported to the Netherlands on
August 23, 2016. For 66 million years
this carnivorous dinosaur lay buried in the rocks. As the organic
matter had virtually all disappeared, only the skeleton was left,
and over the millennia a mineralization process took place. As a
result, Trix's fossilized bones can be considered 'remineralized'
representations of her original bones.
The smaller bones in the tail of a T. Rex fossil are often
missing, lost to scavenging or washed away by currents prior to
burial and fossilization. Intact smaller tail elements of a T. Rex
are therefore rare, and Philips was not aware of much prior work on
the internal structure of these elements. However, Trix has a
beautifully preserved tail. Paleontologist and dinosaur expert
Anne Schulp of Naturalis was keen to
examine Trix's vertebrae in greater detail. On August 31, her four tail vertebrae (C20 – C23)
were scanned on a Philips IQon Spectral CT scanner in Best, in
the Netherlands.
"We have already looked at some of the bones using a regular
medical CT scanner, but we had a little problem," said Anne Schulp, Paleontologist and dinosaur expert
at Naturalis. "There is a deposit of pyrite – an iron rich mineral
that blurs the complete picture because it absorbs the X-rays. So
basically we required a different technology."
Philips IQon is the world's first detector-based spectral CT
scanner. In addition to its unique dual-layer detector, it makes
use of advanced spectral reconstruction algorithms. By combining
these two technologies, the IQon is able to obtain detailed images
of objects that are otherwise difficult to scan, such as Trix's
tail vertebrae.
"The IQon filters out all the 'noise,' as it were, thereby
providing a really good insight into the bone structure and how it
is built up," explained Anne Schulp.
"It's basically making the step from black and white movies to
color. In this way, we are able to add depth to Trix's medical
records: we make the invisible visible. It's just really hard to
describe the sensation of finding something, seeing something that
no one else has ever seen."
These scans are just the first images. Further investigations
will provide even more insights to build up Trix's medical record.
Over the next few months, on-going research with medical experts
will aim to reveal more details about Trix's life.
"What the IQon is doing is acquiring two different X-ray energy
levels in a single acquisition. It's fantastic to see how a
detailed three-dimensional image is built up," said Julien Milles, Clinical Scientist CT Health
Systems, Philips Benelux. "With Trix, we were able to identify and
color-highlight bone structure, even with 'remineralized' versions
of the original bones. So in one picture it is just one white blob.
And then all of a sudden, at the click of a mouse, there is the
next one where all the details in the bone pop up. And that with a
66 million year old lady!"
This isn't the first time Philips' imaging technology has been
leveraged for unearthing secrets of the past. In 2015, Philips' CT
scanners were used to study bones of the bodies of people who died
in Pompeii, giving archeologists a view into the daily lives,
health and habits of the citizens of Pompeii.
For more information on the Philips IQon Spectral CT, visit
www.philips.com/iqon.
For further information, please contact:
Marianne Nouwens
Philips Benelux
Tel.: +31 6 1158 1004
E-mail: Marianne.Nouwens@Philips.com
Kathy O'Reilly
Philips Group Communications
Tel.: +1 978-229-8919
E-mail: Kathy.oreilly@philips.com
About Royal Philips
Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX:
PHIA) is a leading health technology company focused on improving
people's health and enabling better outcomes across
the health continuum from healthy living and prevention, to
diagnosis, treatment and home care. Philips leverages advanced
technology and deep clinical and consumer insights to
deliver integrated solutions. Headquartered in the Netherlands, the company is a leader
in diagnostic imaging, image-guided therapy, patient
monitoring and health informatics, as well as
in consumer health and home care. Philips' health
technology portfolio generated 2015 sales of EUR 16.8 billion and employs approximately 69,000
employees with sales and services in more than 100 countries. News
about Philips can be found at www.philips.com/newscenter
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SOURCE Royal Philips