Revolutionizing CT Imaging: How NBG’s Slip Ring Technology Is Powering the Future of Diagnostics

In the fast-changing realm of medical technology, slip ring systems have become important parts that drive new ideas in diagnostic imaging. This is especially clear in Computed Tomography (CT) scanners, where speed, accuracy, and data transmission are very important. Slip rings let CT systems take rapid, high-resolution cross-sectional photographs without interruptions or cable tangles by keeping the spinning gantry and the stationary frame connected to each other electrically. As the need for faster, more accurate imaging grows, it is important to understand how slip ring technology is driving this development.

This article will talk about how slip rings are important in CT scanners, how they make clinical results and engineering performance better, and why NBG Innovations is setting the standard with new ideas.

A Brief Overview of CT Imaging

Slip rings in CT scanners let the gantry rotate continuously by sending power、control signal and detector data across the revolving interface without wrapping cables. This constant rotation was a huge step forward in the history of CT. It made helical (spiral) scanning possible in the late 1980s and brought CT to life as a diagnostic imaging tool.

Slip-ring CT made dynamic studies like CT angiography possible. The slide rings on the gantry keep power and data moving while it rotates. In clinical settings, slip-ring computed tomography has changed the way images are made. For example, it enables helical CT scanning, where the patient table moves continuously as the X-ray source rotates, producing fast volumetric datasets and further allows advanced dynamic and gated scans.

Some of the main benefits of continuous slip-ring functioning are:

1. Helical (spiral) CT: The gantry moves all the time, which speeds up volume scans. The whole scan circle is finished without stopping, which speeds up the scan a lot.

2. Cardiac and Perfusion CT: Slip rings let the heart or tissue perfusion be imaged quickly in multiple phases by allowing the camera to rotate without stopping. For example, coronary artery CT angiography (CTA) can obtain pictures with negligible motion blur at any time in the cardiac cycle.

3. 4D Respiratory Gating: Continuous scanning provides gated lung imaging (also known as 4D CT), which tracks breathing motion and helps with targeting tumors and delivering the right dose in radiotherapy.

4. CT Fluoroscopy and Interventional CT: The gantry may rotate freely, sending out data all the while, so real-time imaging during interventions is possible. This lets for live guidance without getting cables tangled.

Slip rings also make the workflow better and the patient experience better. The gantry doesn't have to stop and rewind cables, which means exams take less time and more people can get through them. Patients can be scanned more quickly and with fewer artifacts caused by breathing or heart movement. In summary, slip rings have made CT scanners faster and able to do more than one thing.

How Slip Rings Work in CT Scanners

In the past, early CT scanners had to halt and turn around after each round because the cables would twist and make it hard to rotate. Slip rings fixed this problem. They have concentric conductive rings on the revolving frame and stationary brushes that keep the electrical connection. These sliding connections are still used for power and low-rate signals, but as detector data rates rose, non-contact solutions became more common.

Modern high-throughput CT slip rings send data at gigabit rates contactlessly using either optical or Near-Field Transmission connectivity.

Optical slip rings convert electrical signals into optical signals and transmit data through precisely aligned rotating lenses and fiber optic assemblies. Near-Field Transmission Slip Ring, on the other hand, use near-field antennas. Optical signal of Data transfers to a electric signal through a transmitter and sent by an antenna on the rotor, and a stationary Receiver picks it up.

Both systems keep mechanical wear from sliding contacts to a minimum, which cuts down on noise and maintenance. Here is a summary of these methods:

· Contact Slip Rings: Regular rings and brushes carry power and signals. This method provides an economical and reliable transmission solution, although friction-generated carbon dust requires regular cleaning.

· Optical Slip Rings: Use rotating lens/fiber assemblies to send data at high speeds (around 1 to 10 Gbps per channel).Because of the optical path's sensitivity to internal dust contamination,so the maintenance is necessary.

· Near-Field Transmission Slip Ring: Use Capacitive Coupling to send data at speeds of 1 to 10 Gbps per channel. From 2025,NBG start to promote the contactless transmission modular with 25 G contactless per channel,which is a groundbreaking product that is very suitable for large data CT systems such as photon counting CT.

The Role of High-Speed Wireless Slip Rings in Modern CT

As CT technology evolves, the data transmission demands placed on gantry components have surged—especially with the advent of ultra-high-resolution detectors and photon-counting CT. Slip rings must now support real-time, high-bandwidth communication between the rotating and stationary components without generating noise or mechanical wear.

Modern CT slip rings often incorporate non-contact transmission technologies, such as optical orNear-Field Transmission links, to achieve this. Optical slip rings convert electrical signals into optical signals and transmit data through precisely aligned rotating lenses and fiber optic assemblies. However, due to factors such as the optical path's sensitivity to internal dust contamination and the system's structural complexity, the market for optical slip rings has been gradually shrinking in recent years.

In Near-Field Transmission Slip Ring, near-field antennas on the rotor transmit data to stationary receivers, providing a contactless high-speed data transmission method. These systems feature compact size and high reliability, delivering robust solutions for many computed tomography (CT) applications.

Precision bearings, materials with high thermal stability, and modular data architectures also contribute to the reliability and longevity of CT gantries. Today’s systems must allow not just rotation but also uninterrupted communication over longer periods, even during intensive scanning routines like cardiac gating or perfusion studies.

One example of such innovation is NBG’s contactless slip ring system, From 2025,NBG start to promote the contactless transmission modular with 25 G contactless per channel,which is a groundbreaking product that is very suitable for large data CT systems such as photon counting CT.this product enables extended-range communication for next-generation CT applications.

Effect on Clinical Practice and Future Outlook

Advanced slip ring designs help patient care directly by making scans faster and adding new imaging modalities. For doctors, this implies better images (less motion artifact) and the ability to do complicated tests (including cardiac workups, perfusion studies, and CT-guided biopsies) as part of their normal routine. Radiology departments also become more efficient because continuous rotation gets rid of mid-scan breaks, which increases throughput and comfort.

The tendency toward more detectors (higher slice counts) and new scanners (such photon-counting CT) will only make data needs grow in the future. Slip rings need to change in the same way. NBG's plan for the future includes even faster data rates、smaller size and higher reliability, which fits with these needs. In short, each new generation of slip ring technology has added additional CT features, from the first spiral scans in the 1980s to today's multi-gigabit systems.

Slip ring technology continues to play a pivotal role in advancing CT imaging. By eliminating the limitations of traditional cable systems, slip rings enable uninterrupted gantry rotation and support the growing demands of real-time, high-resolution imaging. As CT systems evolve to include technologies like photon-counting and 4D imaging, slip ring innovation remains central to achieving faster, more accurate, and more patient-friendly diagnostic solutions.