Press Release
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27 November, 2005
Philips unveils exam planning, image acquisition and workflow management tools at RSNA that improve efficiency and free-up physician timePhilips highlights new technologies aimed to pace the future of CT imaging Chicago, USA – Exhibiting seamless operation and connectivity of its radiology portfolio through actual patient case studies, Royal Philips Electronics (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHI) will demonstrate at the 91st annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) that its advanced medical imaging technology and information management systems provide healthcare professionals with state-of-the-art products and services to better serve the needs of their patients.
At the 2005 RSNA annual meeting, Philips highlights “Ana” and her family, anonymous patients whose personal medical history is told through diagnostic images and medical data throughout the Philips booth (#1129). The case study of Ana and her family highlights real patient benefits of medical environments that are fully integrated across the radiology spectrum.
“Philips is keenly aware that in order to contribute to the increased efficiency, safety and effectiveness of the healthcare system we need to design advanced new medical technologies that are fully integrated with their surroundings,” said Brent Shafer, executive vice president and CEO, North America, for Philips Medical Systems. “Our technology portfolio clearly illustrates how the advanced new radiology solutions we are introducing this year, and have in past years, all integrate into the patient care cycle, allowing clinicians to focus on their patients.”
Ana and her family’s medical experience plays out on several of the new products being introduced this year at RSNA, including Philips Smart Exam, a breakthrough in magnetic resonance (MR) enabling improved workflow efficiencies and clinical scan quality; Philips Brilliance Workspace Portal and Halo, computed tomography (CT) products that address patient throughput and comfort with unique data management, access and design elements; and Philips PET/CT Viewer available on the Extended Brilliance Workspace, an intuitive, yet powerful PET/CT viewing environment that can easily adapt to the productivity needs of individual users, substantially improving workflow and efficiency for routine clinical review.
At the Philips RSNA booth, attendees can view Ana and her physician’s interaction around a CT scan of Ana’s hip after complaints of recurrent pain. It also showcases how other diagnostic tools – including Precedence SPECT/CT, Allura Xper FD20 and DigitalDiagnost – are used to help diagnose Ana’s brother, who suffers from liver disease, and Ana’s father, who has neurological issues, as well as data management issues for the administrator monitoring the family’s care.
Enhancing MR Workflow and Scan Consistency with One Mouse Click Philips new SmartExam represents a unique and major innovation in MR workflow. Typically, MR examinations require multiple scans that result in a series of images, each with its own characteristics, assisting the physician in making a diagnosis.
With SmartExam, clinicians and technologists are empowered with automatic planning, scanning and processing through a single mouse-click. This new tool offers consistency and reproducibility of scan results, creating optimized scan quality.
Using the examples of Ana’s five year old son, Ricky, who was suffering from headaches, Philips will demonstrate how with the help of SmartExam, the clinical staff was able to better focus on Ricky and his clinical results.
The customizable system enables shorter total examination times for patients, while radiologists capture consistent reproducible clinical results, without operator variability. In addition, SmartExam has the flexibility to perform MR exams defined by the user, tailored to the user’s own conventions and practices.
Currently available on Philips Achieva 3.0T, Achieva 1.5T and Panorama 1.0T scanners, the SmartExam tool can also be applied to previously installed Philips MR systems.
Revolutionary Enhancements Simplify Computed Tomography Philips will unveil two new technological innovations that portray a stunning vision about the future of CT. The first, already in clinical trial at Hadassah Medical Organization in Jerusalem, Israel, is a new Simultaneous Multi Energy detector. This new detector is made up of layers designed to simultaneously detect both low-energy (soft) and high-energy (hard) X-rays. Simultaneous imaging of both soft and hard radiation promises to dramatically improve tissue characterization. Combining signals from both detector layers provides a conventional CT image consisting of the full energy of the beam. Simultaneous Multi Energy detectors do not require a second beam of radiation and thus avoid the potential pitfalls of time lag, registration artifacts and unnecessary radiation dose.
“Our goal is to differentiate soft and hard plaque,” said John Steidley, Ph.D., vice president of Global CT Marketing, for Philips Medical Systems. “First images from the Simultaneous Multi Energy detector show better soft tissue contrast, simplify the process of removing bone and calcium plaque for CT angiography and reduce calcium blurring artifacts.”
The second major innovation is a new full coverage detector platform based on Nano-Panel technology that will image an entire organ, such as the heart or head in a single rotation. This new detector is based on tiles that can be integrated into panels of any size, and thus, finally “breaking the slice barrier” of conventional CT scanner technology.
Advanced PET/CT Viewer Adapts to Individual User’s Preferences The new PET/CT Viewer available on the Extended Brilliance Workspace offers PET/CT users complete access to the full suite of PET (positron emission tomography) and CT clinical applications. This comprehensive package can adapt to the productivity needs of individual users, substantially improving workflow and efficiency for routine clinical review. The new workspace provides PET users with a truly integrated, powerful, yet simple image review and analysis environment for routine clinical evaluation of PET/CT examinations.
The application delivers real-time slice to slice PET/CT display for improved efficiency in diagnostic case review, a display interface that allows clinicians to optimize review for specific clinical needs and a comparison review of multiple studies of the same patient for follow-up evaluation. In addition, Philips exclusive GuidedFlow technology features a simple graphical user interface for ease of use and enhanced workflow efficiency from diagnostic review to printing and reporting processes, while advanced software applications provide tools to aid in quantitative analysis of cardiovascular and neurological diseases.
Additional Products and Technologies for Enhanced Patient Care Philips will showcase a number of other new products at this year’s RSNA. These include:
Philips Visionary Technology Delivers New CT Products for Enhanced Workflow Ø Providing an efficiency-gaining tool, the new Brilliance Workspace Portal brings CT images to any PC across the healthcare enterprise. Now physicians will be able to view CT scans and case information from their office computer or in other parts of the hospital, helping to make clinical diagnosis faster and more accessible as a way to improve overall patient care. Ø Breaking with 25 years of CT history, the new Philips CT Halo eliminates the need for a separate control room for the imaging suite, giving caregivers’ more time to focus on their patients by decreasing procedure steps and increasing patient comfort. New design elements inspired by Philips Ambient Experience improve the environment for both the user and the patient – before, during and after the exam – with the operator being able to control all gantry functions from inside the scan room and more closely monitor the patient.
Next Generation of X-ray Products Ø Being shown at RSNA for the first time and now available in North America, Practix Convenio is a fully motorized, mobile X-ray system combining advanced technology with a wide range of mobility. With X-ray applications that come to the patient, the battery-powered Practix Convenio offers robust electrical and technical concepts by combining cutting-edge technology with extensive mobility for a whole day’s work. Finally, an upgrade path to digital via PCR Eleva makes the system a future-proof investment. Ø Also being shown for the first time at RSNA 2005 is the DigitalDiagnost Compact, a step-in solution for direct digital radiography that features a 17” x 17” flat detector mounted on a fixed multi-purpose stand. The next-generation BV Endura and BV Pulsera Mobile C-arm solutions, which address all mobile fluoroscopy imaging applications, will also be demonstrated at the show. Philips multi-purpose X-ray system, the MultiDiagnost Eleva, has extended its capabilities with the addition of a Flat Detector, providing optimized image quality and projection flexibility.
Improving Diagnostic Confidence in Nuclear Medicine Ø Philips nuclear medicine’s Astonish version 2.0 is an advanced 3D imaging reconstruction tool designed to improve SPECT resolution, image contrast and signal-to-noise texture. To augment the clinician’s diagnostic tools, version 2.0 expands the capabilities of the Astonish software package from planar imaging only to both planar and SPECT imaging. AutoQUANT version 6.5* provides a new simplified method of creating databases for storing known normal patient exams used for comparisons with the current patient exam being studied. Version 6.5* provides new functionality including Vantage Pro attenuation-corrected and thallium normal databases, as well as total perfusion deficit, a new variable for perfusion quantification. This will allow physicians using attenuation correction to leverage the full benefits of AutoQUANT Plus to meet the demands of a nuclear cardiology department. AutoQUANT Plus software delivers accurate quantification and facilitates the most efficient workflow for study interpretation with exclusive integration of perfusion, function and reporting.
* Work in progress – 510(K) required
Vision 2005 Paces New Generation of Ultrasound Capabilities Ø Philips is showcasing Vision 2005 enhancements to the iU22 system including a new generation of 3D/4D abdominal imaging, on-cart and off-cart upgrades to QLAB Quantification Software and Live 3D matrix probes for cardiac imaging. Also being shown is the new Philips HD11 XE system with enhanced ergonomics, a new flat panel monitor and a powerful cardiology/high end radiology imaging package, plus the HD3 which is a small, easy-to-use ultrasound system that is affordable priced for everyday needs, yet packed with a full range of imaging capabilities.
Providing Maximum Up-Time: Customer Service Leadership Ø Philips Remote Service Network (RSN) provides a secure connection to medical devices worldwide to provide proactive resolution to software problems, application issues, and performance concerns. System data is analyzed to diagnose potential problems before they become real problems. And when problems do arise, most can be addressed and repaired without the need to dispatch an engineer. If a diagnosis does require a personal visit, field service engineers are armed beforehand with specific knowledge and, if required, pertinent parts. Mean time to repair is significantly reduced. Some of the key highlights of the RSN are:
All of these products will be featured at the Philips booth (number 1129), located at McCormick Place, South Building. - ends -
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