by
Lisa Chamoff, Contributing Reporter | October 16, 2017
From the October 2017 issue of HealthCare Business News magazine
BioMatrix also comes with respiratory sensors that automatically provide information on a patient’s breathing before imaging starts. This information can be used in combination with the scanner's many day optimizing throughput (DOT) engines to accelerate the exam.
On MAGNETOM Vida, Siemens also introduced new coils that were designed to improve positioning and enhance patient comfort. For example, the system's dedicated knee coil has an expanded diameter and flares toward the thigh to accommodate a greater number of patients.
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Toshiba
At RSNA 2016, Toshiba unveiled its Vantage Galan 3T MR system, building on the company's 3T Titan MR, introduced six years ago.
The Vantage Galan, positioned for facilities with high throughput, has a 71 centimeter bore. It comes with Toshiba’s new Pianissimo Zen acoustic noise reduction technology which, through a combination of hardware and software features, can reduce acoustic noise by more than 99 percent, says Jon Furuyama, senior manager of market development for MR at Toshiba.
As sound is transmitted through air, Toshiba’s engineers took the gradient coil and enclosed it in a vacuum chamber. Furuyama says the bore does taper down to support Pianissimo technology, but the change is worth it for the increase in patient comfort with noise reduction.
“The amount of sound that gets to the patient is dramatically reduced,” Furuyama says. “It is remarkable how quiet we’re able to get the scanner. It’s to the point where people don’t realize the system is acquiring data.”
The Pianissimo Zen software is also available to purchase as an upgrade on Toshiba’s Vantage Titan 1.5T MR scanner.
Also available for the Galan and Titan is Toshiba’s new MR Theater, a screen that fits inside the MR bore and, visible with a mirror, lets patients watch TV and provides a distraction from the often anxiety-producing exam.
Other manufacturers place screens outside the bore, according to Furuyama.
On other systems, patients have to “look pretty far,” Furuyama says. “This screen is sitting right behind the patient, so it’s designed to give an immersive experience. They really lose this feeling that they’re moving inside a bore.”
Toshiba’s Pianissimo Zen and MR Theater offerings are designed to provide a better patient experience.
“Customers are being more evaluated for how a patient feels,” Furuyama says. “We feel that this technology gives the best patient experience out there.”
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