CT is one of the most representative innovative breakthroughs in modern medicine and is widely used in disease diagnosis and surgical planning. Since the birth of the first CT scanner in 1971, its evolution over more than 50 years has continuously progressed across multiple dimensions: improving spatial resolution, temporal resolution, volumetric coverage, and spectral/functional imaging capabilities, aiming to achieve "seeing clearer, faster, and stronger." In this process, ultra-high-end CT system configurations represented by photon-counting, dual-source, and wide-detector technologies have successively emerged, demonstrating their respective advantages in clinical and scientific research applications.
Wan Liwen, Deputy General Manager of the National Innovation Center for High-Performance Medical Devices, emphasized that as a core pillar of the medical imaging field, CT technology has seen continuous breakthroughs in recent years in detector materials, imaging algorithms, and low-dose scanning. Particularly, the advancement of cutting-edge technologies like photon-counting CT (PCCT) has achieved a leap in spatiotemporal resolution, providing unprecedented technical support for early lesion detection, precise quantitative analysis, and personalized diagnosis and treatment. Domestic CT is gradually realizing full-chain innovation from system design and core components to complete machine integration, transitioning from past "catching up" to "running neck and neck" and even "taking the lead" in many areas today.
However, with the rising public health demands and rapid technological development, CT, as the most widely used diagnostic equipment in clinical practice, is facing higher requirements in imaging functionality, hardware performance, and clinical applications. Against this backdrop, the "2025 China Domestic CT Innovation Technology Development Conference," jointly hosted by the National Innovation Center for High-Performance Medical Devices and United Imaging Healthcare, was grandly held in Changsha, Hunan Province on November 13, 2025. At the conference, United Imaging Healthcare officially launched to the world its independently developed, globally pioneering dual-wide dual-source CT platform and China's first photon-counting spectral CT platform, both products of years of R&D. It is reported that this not only marks another significant technological breakthrough for domestic high-end medical equipment in breaking through the ultra-high-end CT field but is also expected to lead clinical precision diagnosis and treatment as well as forward-looking scientific exploration into a comprehensively upgraded new era.
Liu Shiyuan, Chairman of the Chinese Society of Radiology, stated, "The nation advocates that domestic enterprises solve 'chokepoint' issues and import substitution problems. United Imaging can be said to have lived up to the mission, achieving user satisfaction, public pride, and national confidence. From photon-counting to dual-wide dual-source, I believe the two innovative products launched by United Imaging today can not only solve clinical problems that were previously unsolvable but also provide customers with a different scientific research experience, leading to better research outcomes and more successful research translation."
Domestic Ultra-High-End CT Achieves Full-Chain Independent Innovation, Reshaping Spatiotemporal Diagnostic Dimensions
Since the birth of the first human brain CT image in 1971, the history of CT development has been a continuous innovation map driven by the diverse combination and evolution of core components, algorithms, and system architectures. After years of sustained focus in the CT field, publicly available information shows that United Imaging has comprehensively mastered the full-chain core technologies—from the independent R&D of core components like X-ray tubes, high-voltage generators, and detectors to gantry systems, reconstruction algorithms, and even native AI applications—successfully building a fully independent and controllable CT product matrix covering all series and scenarios.
From the market perspective, the significance of United Imaging's first unveiling of its independently developed "dual-wide dual-source and photon-counting" dual platforms and their respective inaugural devices—the globally pioneering dual-wide dual-source CT uCT SiriuX and China's first photon-counting spectral CT uCT Ultima—extends far beyond a mere technological breakthrough for domestic CT in two ultra-high-end technical pathways. It is a powerful expression of United Imaging's advantage in building a platform-level CT integrated innovation ecosystem by integrating new materials, new algorithms, new system architectures, and native AI. This innovation ecosystem will continuously empower the uCT series to enhance multi-dimensional performance—temporal resolution, spatial resolution, spectral imaging, functional assessment, and volumetric coverage—providing unprecedented imaging support for various clinical and research scenarios such as early disease detection and precise diagnosis.
Du Yanfeng, from United Imaging's Computed Tomography Business Unit, explained, "Addressing the dilemma of traditional high-end CT where wide coverage and high temporal resolution were 'incompatible,' the uCT SiriuX, as a globally pioneering new CT system configuration, thoroughly overturn traditional architecture. It breakthrough integrates wide-detector technology with dual-source technology, achieving an industry-leading highest whole-heart temporal resolution of 8ms, dual 16cm whole-organ volumetric coverage, and an ultra-large 470mm spectral imaging field of view (FOV). The unique advantage of this disruptive innovation lies in filling the gaps in traditional clinical dynamic imaging. In the field of cardiac imaging, uCT SiriuX can not only clearly display coronary stenosis, plaque stress, and valve motion, enabling single-heartbeat-cycle whole-heart dynamic imaging, but also, through full-phase data acquisition and deep learning-based motion correction algorithms, provide a stable and reliable imaging foundation for structural assessment and quantitative measurement. Furthermore, it supports clinical acquisition of whole-body motion imaging from joint movement to organ motion, opening new dimensions in functional imaging assessment."
"As China's first photon-counting spectral CT approved for market, the uCT Ultima is equipped with the industry's latest photon-counting detector with a 0.2mm pixel size, achieving for the first time in the industry integrated high-definition and spectral imaging across the full collimated FOV, perfectly balancing high spatial resolution and accurate material decomposition quantification," Du Yanfeng further added. "Dual-wide dual-source CT and photon-counting CT serve as two strategic pillars for United Imaging's layout in ultra-high-end CT. In the future, as the company further strengthens its supply chain and the cost of photon-counting detectors continues to optimize, these two technology platforms will fully converge, driving the expansion of the high-end CT field towards functional and quantitative imaging, as well as the comprehensive upgrade of precise imaging capabilities. This will also further strengthen United Imaging's leading position in technological innovation and market competition within the high-end CT sector."
Industry-University-Research-Hospital Collaborative Innovation Builds a New Ecosystem for High-End CT
It is reported that since 2023, United Imaging Healthcare, leading a consortium including Zhongshan Hospital, Ruijin Hospital, and other entities across the industrial chain, universities, and clinical institutions, undertook the "Photon-Counting Spectral CT R&D" project under the National Key R&D Program of the "14th Five-Year Plan." All parties have been making every effort to promote the domestic production of photon-counting detectors and key components. Currently, United Imaging's photon-counting spectral CT has been installed at Fudan University Affiliated Zhongshan Hospital and Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine Affiliated Ruijin Hospital for clinical medical research.
"In terms of resolution, it has reached industry-leading levels, helping doctors detect tiny lesions earlier and more clearly," emphasized Yan Fuhua, Director of the Radiology Department at Ruijin Hospital, when discussing the clinical advantages of United Imaging's photon-counting spectral CT.
According to the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) website, the other ultra-high-end CT launched this time, the dual-wide dual-source CT, entered the NMPA's special review process for innovative medical devices in July this year. It is currently undergoing clinical testing at Zhongshan Hospital, Fuwai Hospital, and Shanghai First People's Hospital.
Zeng Mengsu, Director of the Radiology Department at Zhongshan Hospital, stated: "The dual-wide CT enables cardiac 4D cine imaging, allowing precise assessment of cardiac motion status and various pathologies, while significantly reducing radiation dose. Secondly, in the field of coronary imaging, it can also assess plaque vulnerability from a functional perspective, providing a new angle for identifying high-risk plaques." Lu Bin, Director of the Radiology Department at Fuwai Hospital, pointed out that the dual-wide CT revolutionarily improves the success rate of examinations for complex cases such as fast heart rates and arrhythmias, and achieves a diagnostic leap from static anatomy to dynamic functional aspects like cardiac motion function and myocardial blood flow perfusion. Zhang Jiayin, Director of the Radiology Department at Shanghai First People's Hospital, commented on this: "The design of the dual-wide platform enables us to achieve 'single scan, simultaneous dual assessment'—completing both coronary anatomical assessment and myocardial perfusion quantification in one examination. This is an important milestone in the non-invasive imaging diagnosis of coronary heart disease."
From mastering core components and reshaping system architectures to leading intelligent applications, and now to the evolution and convergence of the "dual-wide dual-source" and "photon-counting" technology platforms, United Imaging Healthcare, leveraging its first-mover advantage in the innovation ecosystem, has clearly shown the industry the future development landscape of CT: it will no longer be a linear progression in a single dimension but a symbiotic fusion of multi-dimensional capabilities. "Clearer" microscopic resolution, "truly dynamic" functional capture capability, and the "native intelligence" throughout are all indispensable, together forming the innovative cornerstone of the ideal future CT. A new era of CT medical imaging, led by Chinese strength, that is more efficient, more precise, and more accessible is accelerating its arrival.
Xue Min, Chairman of the United Imaging Group, stated, "Every important evolution in CT technology has always been the result of deep integration and innovation across industry, academia, research, and medicine. In the future, United Imaging will continue to steadfastly invest in CT core technology innovation, launching more innovative products based on the photon-counting platform and dual-wide architecture platform, allowing innovation to reach more hospitals and serve more patients. We will also continue to join hands with clinical experts to deeply conduct collaborative research, jointly building an open, co-creative, and win-win CT innovation ecosystem, enabling more innovative solutions originating from China to go global."
