Final answer:
The maximum number of simultaneous sections an MDCT system can acquire is determined by the quantity of solid-state radiation detectors.
Step-by-step explanation:
The maximum number of simultaneous sections an MDCT (multi-detector computed tomography) system can acquire per gantry rotation is controlled by the number of solid-state radiation detectors that are present. These detectors are arranged in rows and the quantity of rows correlates with the number of sections that can be imaged at once. As a result, MDCT systems with more detector rows can acquire multiple slices simultaneously, which contributes to shorter scanning times and improved image resolution.
However, this has to be balanced with the cost and complexity of the system. MDCT technology contrasts with single-photon-emission computed tomography (SPECT), which uses a gamma camera to capture two-dimensional images and can be rotated around the patient to obtain multiple views, but typically the acquisition is not of multiple sections simultaneously.