Imaging Guide

The following is our annual Cardiology Today Guide to Imaging Technology designed for physicians.

Cardiology Today offered imaging equipment and device manufacturers the opportunity to be listed here in our 2010 Guide. However, appearance does not imply endorsement by the chief medical editor or publisher of Cardiology Today. All of the information was supplied by the manufacturers; please contact them for more information. The editors regret any omissions.

Siemens Biograph mCT PET/CT System

Using the combined technologies of adaptive spiral CT and high-definition PET, the Biograph mCT system represents the world’s first integrated molecular CT scanning system, capable of service in both the radiology and the nuclear medicine department in one device. The scanner offers whole body PET/CT scanning within five minutes, and allows the practitioner the flexibility of day-in and day-out CT scanning. The scanner design, with its short tunnel, large bore and compact footprint, offer the patient a high level of comfort.

Siemens Symbia E Series SPECT Scanner

The Symbia E SPECT scanner family offers the benefits of a highly-integrated HD detector system that helps eliminate isotope-specific floods, and with its Autoform collimators, ensures up to 26% higher sensitivity. In addition, the device allows for real-time corrections and individual photomultiplier tuning. The dual-detector, variable angle system also offers flexible patient posturing for planar imaging, allows for whole-body scans and enables the specialist to conduct SPECT studies. The Symbia family of scanners also includes the Symbia S scanner (which features higher workflow automation) and the Symbia T scanner (which can also perform brain, renal and bone scans).

Siemens Symbia.net System

The Symbia.net system represents a novel client-server solution that allows for the processing and reading of SPECT and SPECT/CT studies at any time and in virtually any location. Designed specifically with needs of the nuclear medicine specialist in mind, the system features a user-friendly interface and advanced automation features. The system is configurable with Siemens standard and advanced clinical MI-Engines, as well as standard cardiac packages such as the Corridor 4DM, Cedars and the Emory Cardiac Toolbox. The floating license allows up to five users to use the system simultaneously, streamlining information-sharing and lessening the need for local processing..

Siemens Eclipse PET Cyclotron

The Eclipse PET cyclotrons family enables the production of Curie-level yields of radioisotopes. The system features an 11 MeV, negative-ion, single-particle accelerator that emits radioisotopes of 18F radiotracers such as 18F, 11C 13N and 15O by way of a four-position automated targeting carousel. The Eclipse HP, capable of producing small-volume targets with high-production yields using up to 8 targets and a 60 mA current, further supports solid targets and utilizes water cooling for the elimination of helium. The Eclipse RD is capable of using up to 16 target positions and a 40 mA current. It also requires helium and water cooling, and does not support solid targets.

Toshiba Aquilion One CT System

The Aquilion One CT system, using 320 ultra-high resolution detector rows, is capable of capturing up to 16 cm in a single gantry rotation of 0.35 seconds. The system can also show dynamic function such as blood flow. The Aquilion system is designed with a particular emphasis on the pediatric patient, who tends to have smaller vessels, lower bone density and less body fat. The quick gantry rotation allows Aquilion One to deliver a smaller dose of radiation and eliminates the need for sedation, making it ideal for pediatric imaging.

Toshiba Aplio MX Ultrasound System

The Aplio MX ultrasound system, a cart-based system useful in the ED, the intensive care unit, outside of the lab or at the bedside. Unique features of the Aplio system include contrast harmonics that enhance tissue definition by way of bubble-based contrast agents, as well as differential tissue harmonic imaging that enables the specialist to analyze more difficult-to-image patients, such as those with bariatric conditions. The Aplio system also utilizes ApliPure+ compound technology for the simultaneous performance of spatial and frequency compounding during transmitting and receiving. Advanced dynamic flow allows the specialist to examine flow and directional information in full color, and the system’s Tissue Doppler Imaging Quantification software allows various measures of myocardial viability.

Toshiba Vantage Titan MR Scanner

The Titan cardiac MR scanner enables the specialist to analyze both valve structure and heart function and to capture high-quality images of the midline anatomy and even some peripheral tissues. The scanner features a body coil of multi-sized elements sensitive to specific MR signals in the cardiac anatomy, enabling physicians to select the appropriate coil elements conducive to imaging desired parts of the anatomy. The scanner design also allows patients to enter the scanning bore feet first rather than head first.

Philips BrightView XCT Scanner

The BrightView XCT scanner offers a coplanar design coupled with flat-detector X-ray CT technology. The resulting images yield fewer artifacts and higher resolution, and the acquisition of volume data via true isotropic voxels ensures high-quality images regardless of the viewing angle. The scanner provides 140 mm of axial coverage in a single 12-second breath hold, can acquire the entire heart volume in a single rotation, and permits patients to breathe normally during the CT acquisition. Its design also allows the table to remain stationary in many cases, eliminating the complexities of table indexing.

Philips CX50 Compact Ultrasound System

The Philips CX50 portable ultrasound system offers the specialist the ability to acquire cardiac and vascular exams at bedside. The system features PureWave piezoelectric transducer technology, providing greater bandwidth and more consistent uniformity than ultrasound systems with conventional ceramic materials. The CX50 also features iScan technology that enables automatic data sampling for the rapid optimization of 2-D and Doppler performance, and the system incorporates the latest 3-D freehand acquisition that allows for advanced volume workflow studies. The CX50 can also store active native acoustic data, enabling the operator to adjust almost all scanning parameters on single images, on clips or on stored 2-D and Doppler data.

GE Healthcare Discovery NM 530c

The Discovery NM 530c nuclear imaging system features up to a 4-fold increase in sensitivity and zero equipment motion for improved image quality. The system has the potential to enable new clinical applications for 3D dynamic acquisition allowing first pass and other dynamic applications. Physicians can choose between dose reduction, fast acquisition or improvement in statistics. Using Alcyone technology, the Discovery system can directly convert gamma rays into digital signals without the need for photomultiplier tubes.

GE Healthcare MARS Virtual Sleep Lab (VSL)

The MARS VSL system is the first device to provide a streamlined view of quantitative cardiac and sleep apnea analysis from any GE-monitored inpatient bed, helping enhance speed of diagnosis. The system is powered by diagnostic software that ultimately enables a diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea right from the hospital bed. MARS VSL also enables quantitative Holter analysis for in-hospital cardiac patients. The system directly links into the a central station monitor that assimilates real-time and historical patient data from multiple monitoring sources, allowing a quantitative Holter analysis to be immediately performed from any connected patient bed, without the need for locating and attaching additional monitoring equipment.

GE Healthcare MAC800 Portable ECG System

The MAC 800 resting ECG is a lightweight and portable ECG device that combines the keypad of a phone with a full-size color display, and features GE Marquette 12SL ECG diagnostic software. The unit can be carried like a briefcase, expanding access to care, regardless of patient location. The system’s lithium ion battery enables up to 2 hours of continuous operation or up to 250 standard patient reports, and a quick, 4-hour recharge helps reduce downtime.