EH 5_2015

EUROPEAN HOSPITAL  Vol 24 Issue 5/15 22 ULTRASOUND Editor-in-Chief: Brenda Marsh Art Director: Olaf Skrober Managing Editor: Sylvia Schulz Editorial team: Sascha Keutel, Marcel Rasch Senior Writer: John Brosky Executive Director: Daniela Zimmermann Founded by Heinz-Jürgen Witzke Correspondents Austria: Michael Kraßnitzer, Christian Pruszinsky. China: Nat Whitney France: Annick Chapoy, Jane MacDougall.Germany: Anja Behringer, Annette Bus, Walter Depner, Bettina Döbereiner, Matthias Simon, Axel Viola, Cornelia Wels-Maug, Holger Zorn. Great Britain: Brenda Marsh, Mark Nicholls. Malta: Moira Mizzi. Poland: Pjotr Szoblik. Russia: Olga Ostrovskaya, Alla Astachova. Spain: Mélisande Rouger, Eduardo de la Sota. Switzerland: Dr. André Weissen. USA: Cynthia E. Keen, i.t. Communications, Nat Whitney. Subscriptions Janka Hoppe, European Hospital, Theodor-Althoff-Str. 45, 45133 Essen, Germany Subscription rate 6 issues: 42 Euro, Single copy: 7 Euro. Send order and cheque to: European Hospital Subscription Dept Printed by: WVD, Mörfelden-Walldorf, Germany Publication frequency: bi-monthly European Hospital ISSN 0942-9085 Representatives China & Hongkong: Gavin Hua, Sun China Media Co, Ltd. Phone: +86-0755-81 324 036 E-Mail: gh@european-hospital.com Germany, Austria, Switzerland: Ralf Mateblowski Phone: +49 6735 912 993 E-Mail: rm@european-hospital.com France, Italy, Spain: Eric Jund Phone: +33 493 58 77 43 E-Mail: ej@european-hospital.com GB, Scandinavia, BeNeLux: Simon Kramer Phone/Fax: +31 180 6200 20 E-Mail: sk@european-hospital.com Israel: Hannah Wizer, International Media Dep. of El-Ron Adv. & PR Co., Ltd. Phone: +972-3-6 955 367 E-Mail: hw@european-hospital.com South Korea: CH Park, MCI Phone: +82 2 730 1234 E-Mail: chp@european-hospital.com USA & Canada: Hanna Politis, Media International Tel: +1 301 869 66 10 E-Mail: hp@european-hospital.com Real-time virtual ultrasound turns fusion imaging on its side with a dynamic synchronisation of ultrasound with MRI Using the Arietta V70 from Hitachi, a French diagnostic imaging team is rewriting the book on obstetrics and gynaecology. Entitled the ‘Atlas d’échographie de fusion en gyné- cologie obstétrique’, the new edition by Jean-Marc Levaillant MD, and col- leagues from the diagnostic imaging centres at the Bicêtre and Créteil hospitals in Paris, will be published before the end of 2015. Driving the excitement behind the new atlas are unique double views of anatomy acquired using the Real- Time Virtual Sonography (RVS) fea- ture on the Hitachi Aloka Arietta V70 ultrasound system, according to Laurence Gitz MD at the Prenatal Diagnostic Centre at Bicêtre. ‘Here we have a synchronisation of images rather than superimposing one image on top of the other, as with the usual fusion imaging. This means that we have a dynamic comparison with side-by-side view- ing, which allows us to focus more clearly on a zone of interest and scrutinise better the anomaly,’ Gitz explained during a presentation at the French Radiology Congress. The new atlas will include what she described enthusiastically as side-by-side views of a foetal crani- um where the Hitachi echo images confirm a suspicion raised on the MRI images. During the workshop, Naïma Chaibi MD noted that there could be uncertainties and disagreements about a diagnosis among clinicians when the MRI and ultrasound imag- Fast. Efficient. Precise. Sharp. Impacting on clinical decisions. Accelerating clinical routine. Following the release of its new Version 6 software upgrade for the Aplio Platinum Series ultrasound system, Toshiba has received high marks for the enhanced functions and performance from practitioners, each offering specific insights into how they are applying the technol- ogy. In a whirlwind world tour, here’s what they say: Superb Microvascular Imaging ‘Estimated very conservatively, I’d say that in around 20% of cases a different approach to treatment results from the use of Superb Microvascular Imaging (SMI),’ reports Professor Thomas Fischer MD, Head of Ultrasound Diagnostics at the Institute for Radiology at the Charité Mitte Hospital in Berlin. SMI is a Doppler imaging proce- dure that reacts a lot more sensitive- ly to low flow speeds than normal Doppler imaging – with the added benefit of increased spatial and tem- poral resolution. The new version of the software has also reduced clutter artefacts that can affect the visualisation of perfusion. SMI can be used with contrast agents, can be visualised in 3-D and is compatible with more transducers. In clinical diagnostics SMI has proved to be a game changer. Fischer suggests this functionality can be used wherever the objective is the diagnosis of vascularisation and he sees a particular advantage for the diagnosis of liver disease and, specifically, cancers. After the wash-in and wash-out phases of the contrast agent, the examiner can switch to SMI, now optimised es are viewed separately. ‘In such cases where the condition is not clear on one modality, there is an advantage to bringing them togeth- er, in having both examinations simultaneously displayed,’ she said. Chaibi currently leads a project to create a scoring method that will relate visualisations acquired by the Arietta V70 using RVS with an evalu- ation of risks for a patient. Originally developed for inter- ventional radiology applications, Hitachi Aloka combined this new approach to fusion imaging with the company’s deep experience in OB/ GYN examinations to develop the new application for the Arietta V70. After a scanner sequence is load- ed onto the platform, a clinician clips a mini-sensor to the ultra- sound probe that is tracked in a magnetic field projected from an antenna. According to Senior Product Manager Fréderic Philippe, the registration of the patient’s anat- omy with the scanned data set is so robust that it can maintain the accuracy of a synchronised ultra- sound exam even where there has been a shift of organs, or a foetus has moved. The lightweight and ergonomic design of the Arietta platform has been accelerated for the top-of-the- line V70 with the addition of high performance processing power that Philippe said is more than three- times more powerful than earlier versions. The clinical advances Hitachi Aloka brings are the result of main- taining a horizontal, global approach to development that crosses ultra- sound specialties, he added. ‘We bring to OB/GYN advanced tools and technologies originally devel- oped in other clinical specialties. For example, the speckle tracking developed for cardiology has been applied to obstetrics for tracking a foetal heart. In bringing fusion developed for the liver and kid- neys from radiology applications, we were able to show for the first time the foetal brain and have since shown the clinical relevance of echo fusion exams for diagnosing placenta abnormalities. Studies are now exploring cervical and ovarian cancers,’ he said. ‘We have stayed focused on a fundamentally different approach oriented to improving the clinical value of our technology. Sometimes ultrasound is used for clever market- ing techniques, such as showing a snapshot of the unborn baby’s face. But this does not have a lot of clini- cal value. Our goal is to precisely monitor the development of the foetus or organ and detecting any abnormalities as early as possible,’ he said. ‘As a result of this commit- ment, starting in the first trimester of pregnancy, a clinician can see a level of information with an image quality that has never been avail- able before. Clinicians have told us they are now able to see specific conditions of a foetus several weeks earlier in its development by using our probes and imaging platforms.’ New atlas will redefine OB/GYN imaging Using Supe Imaging anFoetal brain sagittal view illustrated via Hitachi Aloka’s Fusion Imaging (RVS) A suspicion of placenta accreta – detected with Hitachi Aloka’s high-definition blood flow imaging (eFLOW) and illustrated with Fusion Imaging (RVS) In its first year of routine use, the new Aplio Platinum Series has won praise from leading clinicians worldwide Source:ThomasFischer Source:AfshinGangi Phone: +86-0755-81324036 Phone: +496735912993 Phone: +33493587743 Phone/Fax: +31180620020 Phone: +972-3-6955367 Phone: +8227301234 Tel: +13018696610

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