News | Press Releases

November 26, 2007

TOSHIBA TO DEMONSTRATE VANTAGE ATLAS™ 1.5T MR ENHANCEMENTS

Bore Design Provides Large Field-of-View and Increases Patient Comfort

CHICAGO, Nov. XX, 2007 - Toshiba America Medical Systems, Inc., a leader in diagnostic and medical imaging, will demonstrate enhancements to its EXCELART Vantage™ powered by Atlas 1.5T MR system - a short-bore, multi-channel system with a large clinical field-of-view (FOV) - at the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) annual meeting in Chicago, Nov. 25 - 30, 2007 (Booth #7130).

The Vantage Atlas is one of the most advanced 1.5T machine available and is the world's first 128-element integrated coil system allowing physicians to perform multiple exams without repositioning coils. The integrated coil design delivers a more comfortable patient exam experience and enhances workflow and technologist productivity. With a large clinical FOV, the Atlas meets the medical marketplace's need for an MR system that delivers high-resolution images across the entire body. Also, the Vantage Atlas' bore design will decrease incidents of claustrophobia by giving patients more room during an MR exam.

"Toshiba continues to lead the industry with the Vantage Atlas' large FOV, short magnet and patented Pianissimo™ technology, which reduces acoustic noise drastically," said Bob Giegerich, director, MR Business Unit, Toshiba. "The Vantage also offers high-quality images and contrast-free imaging capabilities for safer MRA exams. All of these features provide exceptional clinical images and significantly improve patient care and comfort."

Toshiba's three proprietary contrast-free MRA techniques include Fresh Blood Imaging (FBI), Contrast-free Improved Angiography (CIA), and Time-Spatial Labeling Inversion Pulse (Time-SLIP). Recently, the FDA issued a black-box warning about the use of gadolinium-based contrast agents in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) exams. These contrast agents have been directly linked to Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis (NSF), also known as Nephrogenic Fibrosing Dermopathy (NFD), a rare, sometimes fatal disease that occurs in patients with renal insufficiency.

Toshiba is the only diagnostic imaging company currently offering contrast-free MRA techniques, which offer comparable image quality to contrast-enhanced MRA exams.

"EXCELART Vantage™", "Vantage Atlas™" and "Pianissimo™" are trademarks of Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation.