ACUSON S2000 with Virtual Touch improves liver diagnosis
Siemens Healthcare is showing a very innovative application on the new ACUSON S2000 ultrasound system. “The software packages Virtual Touch tissue imaging and Virtual Touch tissue quantification represent the clinical realisation of a method, previously known as Acoustic Radiation Force Impulse (ARFI) technology”, the firm explains.
‘ ‘The method resembles a palpation where the mechanical compression and stiffness properties of tissue are evaluated. Both implementations are particularly suitable for liver tissue. Further applications, e.g. in the diagnosis of the prostate, are validated at the present.’
For the patient the medical examination with the two new Virtual Touch software solutions is not only quicker than with conventional methods but also considerably more comfortable, because the need to puncture a patient with a needle for biopsy – time consuming procedures – could probably be reduced by ARFI imaging, Siemens points out. ‘Using the Virtual Touch application, the tissue gets compressed via acoustic energy. It enables the physician to evaluate the mechanical characteristics of deep tissue and tissue changes. The quantitative value and qualitative visual measurements provided by ARFI are compiled and charged completely without manual compression.’
Siemens reports that it is the first medical devices manufacturer to use Virtual Touch with ARFI technology in sonographic imaging. ‘Current research assumes that the method is helpful in differentiating anomalies such as liver tumours, or quantifying the liver fibrosis level. The new technology is already utilised in several hospitals in Europe.’
18.11.2008
