Siemens Announces First Installation of Symbia SPECT-CT System at University of Michigan Health System; Siemens to Showcase Hybrid Imaging Solutions at RSNA 2004.

CHICAGO -- Siemens Medical Solutions has announced the first installation of a Symbia system, incorporating TruePoint(TM) SPECT-CT (Single-Photon Emission Computed Tomography/Computed Tomography) technology, at the University of Michigan Health System (UMHS), which plans to install two more Symbia systems by the end of 2005. Siemens will demonstrate the capabilities of the Symbia family, along with other hybrid imaging solutions, in the Siemens booth (# 2729) at the 90th Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) from Nov. 29 through Dec. 3 in Chicago.

"This device will allow us to take nuclear cardiac imaging to the next level. We expect that within the next year, we'll be doing 80 to 90 percent of our cardiac studies on these systems," said James Corbett, M.D., professor of Radiology and Internal Medicine, director of Cardiovascular Nuclear Medicine, UMHS. "Based on our experience with merging information from these two modalities separately, we anticipate as we integrate this new hybrid system into our clinical practice that diagnostic accuracy will be improved significantly, as the amount of information gathered in one scanning session will be considerably increased. This should make the Nuclear Medicine SPECT images more accurate, and the information from the spatially registered CT scan will provide additional correlative data. We expect this will significantly enhance the diagnostic and prognostic value to the combined imaging procedure, compared to conventional SPECT imaging alone."

Siemens TruePoint SPECT-CT combines the functional sensitivity of SPECT with the anatomical detail of diagnostic multi-slice CT, providing clinicians with greatly improved imaging clarity and diagnostic confidence. With a single scanning session, this imaging technology quickly captures comprehensive, accurate information on both the molecular and anatomical levels, enabling clinicians to detect changes in molecular activity even before structural changes become visible. With earlier and more accurate diagnosis, physicians will be able to plan treatment more effectively and provide feedback on treatment efficacy, as well as avoid unnecessary surgery and improve planning for necessary surgery, while reducing the associated risks.

Dr. Corbett expects TruePoint SPECT-CT technology to play an important role in the continued development of molecular imaging capabilities for SPECT. "Technology like this is critical to the use of SPECT in molecular imaging studies. Molecular markers are shown as 'hot spots' in the SPECT image, but without having the high resolution anatomical information from the CT scan, it can be difficult if not impossible to accurately localize these hot spot tracers and make definitive diagnoses," explained Dr. Corbett.

Symbia's ability to perform three different scans - SPECT, diagnostic CT, and SPECT-CT - in a single, automated procedure also enhances therapy planning, speeds exam time, and increases comfort and convenience for the patient. The system's integration of syngo(R), Siemens' unique multi-modality platform, offers a common, intuitive user interface and enables easy access to patient data. The syngo software also includes fully automated and integrated workflows, so that SPECT and CT datasets can be acquired and efficiently processed on one single workstation.

"Since the excitement surrounding its introduction at the Society of Nuclear Medicine meeting in June 2004, our customers have been eagerly awaiting our first clinical installations of TruePoint SPECT-CT technology," said Michael Reitermann, president of the Siemens Medical Solutions Nuclear Medicine Group. "The overwhelming acceptance of this technology, in addition to our popular biograph PET/CT systems, demonstrates Siemens' leadership in the development of hybrid imaging innovations. We will continue to investigate new ways to add form to function, by enhancing our functional imaging capabilities with anatomical detail."

Also at RSNA, Siemens will demonstrate its biograph(TM) family of positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) systems, which incorporates an unmatched range of performance options to enhance image quality, resolution, and throughput, as well as software solutions for multimodality integration. Key features include HI-REZ, a high resolution PET option that can provide greater than 250 percent improvement in volumetric image resolution, and the Pico-3D option provides ultra-fast detector electronics that substantially improve image quality, with up to 70 percent better count rate performance(1) under typical scan conditions.

In addition, Siemens will feature the revolutionary LEONARDO post-processing workplace, which provides unmatched clinical flexibility and efficiency by integrating more than 50 syngo-based multimodality imaging applications within one logical user interface. This workplace has been incorporated with the wide-ranging nuclear medicine capabilities of the company's e.soft(TM) software suite to create e.soft@LEONARDO, which offers a powerful grouping of multimodality applications to optimize diagnosis and streamline workflow throughout a facility's imaging environment, such as SPECT and PET processing, and FusedVision3D, combining CT volume rendered images with PET and SPECT data. Strict adherence to the DICOM standard provides smooth integration into clinical workflows and ensures cross-vendor compatibility with these systems, and the automated workflows reduce administrative work and accelerate clinical processes.

Siemens nuclear medicine technologies are supported by the company's Service Organization and Accessories Solutions group to ensure that customers get the most out of the technology, thus maximizing return on investment.

Siemens Medical Solutions of Siemens AG (NYSE:SI) with headquarters in Malvern, Pennsylvania and Erlangen, Germany, is one of the largest suppliers to the healthcare industry in the world. The company is known for bringing together innovative medical technologies, healthcare information systems, management consulting, and support services, to help customers achieve tangible, sustainable, clinical and financial outcomes. Employing approximately 31,000 people worldwide and operating in more than 120 countries, Siemens Medical Solutions reported sales of 7.07 billion EUR, orders of 8.12 billion EUR and group profit of 1.05 billion EUR for fiscal 2004 (preliminary figures). More information can be obtained by visiting http://www.usa.siemens.com/medical-pressroom.

(1) Data on file, results may vary.