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Healthcare professionals to gain efficiencies through new technologies

The 96th Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting of the Radiological Society of North America ( RSNA ), in Chicago (28 November to 2 December 2010) was the platform for Siemens Healthcare to showcase its portfolio of innovative imaging solutions.  syngo.via, software for multimodality reading of clinical cases was presented with a series of customer testimonials to allow RSNA delegates the opportunity to learn more about the solution first hand. Furthermore, to demonstrate its leadership in molecular imaging, Siemens unveiled the Biograph™ mCT 20 Excel, a hybrid PET•CT system and Biograph™ mMR, the world’s first molecular MR system.

The Biograph family of hybrid Positron Emission Tomography•Computed Tomography (PET•CT) systems combine speed, image quality and affordability to work within any budget.  At RSNA 2010 , a new member was introduced - the Biograph mCT 20 Excel.  It offers unique imaging technologies, such as a 20-slice adaptive CT, standard PET time of flight and the new HD•Chest technology.  It also boasts a large 78 cm bore and 500-pound capacity table that are optimised for large patients.  The bore also easily accommodates radiotherapy positioning devices for more accurate treatment planning. Using Siemens unique CARE technologies, radiation exposure is minimised for patients.

The new Biograph mMR was also showcased as a new concept in diagnostic imaging.  For the first time a 3-Tesla MR scanner and an integrated Positron Emission Tomography ( PET ) detection system are combined to give simultaneous data acquisition technology to capture tissue and cellular data from inside the human body.

“The Biograph mCT 20 Excel and Biograph mMR systems both launched at RSNA 2010 offer exciting new propositions for the UK health marketplace.  These are not just systems placed side-by-side or back-to-back, but are two truly hybrid imaging information solutions.  They make obtaining information much more efficient and allow clinicians to gain a better understanding of a disease and its progression,” said Lawrence Foulsham, Product Manager for Molecular Imaging & Oncology at Siemens Healthcare in the UK.

syngo.via also headlined at RSNA and customer testimonials from some of the 100 worldwide installations highlighted how the advanced visualisation tools and automated processes lead to faster reading times and lowered costs.  For example, Peter Sögner, MD, Department of Radiology, Innsbruck Medical University in Austria states, “In the past, a lot of time was spent for routine cardiac imaging – anywhere from 30 to 50 minutes for a patient with benign results.  “Today with syngo.via, if the vessels are normal, in case of coronaries without stenoses, you can perform the same task in one minute."

syngo.via integrates imaging devices, such as MRI, CT, and PET-CT scanners with Radiology Information Systems ( RIS ) and Picture Archiving and Communications Systems ( PACS ) of leading vendors, including Siemens’ PACS solution, syngo.plaza. When syngo.via and syngo.plaza are combined, users are presented with direct, no-click access between the two technologies and
a unified user-interface for faster reading.

Siemens Healthcare also used RSNA to become the first manufacturer to issue a "Guide to Low Dose".  Aimed at physicians and medical technical staff, this guide builds on Siemens reputation of a low dose imaging innovator and describes the basics of radiation used for medical purposes.  It gives a detailed explanation of the functions currently available and how these features can help them to protect patients and clinical staff.

Source: Siemens Healthcare