Toshiba Announces 200th Installation of Vantage MRI System at Arango Imaging Center; Milestone Marks Broad Product Adoption in Only Two Years.

TUSTIN, Calif. -- The leader in advanced imaging technology, Toshiba America Medical Systems Inc. (TAMS) today announced the 200th installation worldwide of the Vantage -- a 1.5-tesla (1.5T) high-field magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system equipped with an ultra-short, ultra-wide bore that delivers more patient-friendly exams and high-performance applications. The 200th installation occurred at Arango Imaging Center, an advanced outpatient imaging facility in El Paso, Texas. Arango Imaging Center is one of the first sites in the country to receive the Vantage MRI with the new Version 7 software, which improves acquisition speed, image quality and detail.

"We immediately experienced benefits with our Vantage MRI system, including dramatically improved image quality and patient throughput," said Dr. Carmen P. Arango, founder, Arango Imaging Center. "We are thrilled with the success we have experienced thus far with Toshiba's equipment and look forward to benefiting from additional Toshiba technologies in the future."

A long-time Toshiba customer, Arango believes in excellence -- from the equipment she selects to the design of her patient-friendly centers. "Toshiba's commitment to developing patient-focused technology fits well with our business objectives, which are to deliver the highest quality imaging technology to patients without sacrificing clinical performance," she said. The Vantage is one of the many Toshiba technologies currently installed at Arango Imaging Center, which also houses Toshiba's CT and cryogenless, superconducting open MRI scanner.

Historically, MRI examinations have been among the most difficult experiences for patients -- causing serious anxiety and claustrophobia for many. The primary culprits have been noisy, tunnel-like systems and long exam times.

"The Vantage continues to prove its clinical value with superior performance and patient-focused features for more comfortable MRI exams," said Bob Giegerich, director, MR Business Unit, TAMS. "With the world's shortest magnet at 140 cm and Toshiba's patented Pianissimo(TM) technology, which effectively reduces acoustic noise by as much as 90 percent, the Vantage can significantly reduce the most common causes for patient discomfort."

With improvements to the patient environment, clinicians can better utilize the Vantage's high-field MRI capabilities, such as parallel imaging and advanced gradient performance, which can dramatically reduce exam times for the patient.

In addition to its patient comfort features, the Vantage MRI system performs a wide variety of exams using the latest state-of-the-art imaging techniques. From a physician's perspective, the greater number of high-quality sequence images captured per unit of time with the Vantage allows high-end applications to be performed -- including brain and cardiac imaging, magnetic resonance angiography (MRA), advanced chest and abdominal examinations, high-resolution imaging, and off-center field-of-view skeletal imaging. With the Vantage MRI, Toshiba has identified a "tipping-point" without the technical disadvantages of an excessively short-bore magnet for fast, efficient imaging.

Arango Imaging Center's investment in leading-edge technology has expanded the center's capabilities, resulting in increased patient referrals. In fact, three additional centers in El Paso and surrounding areas are scheduled to open within the next year. For more information about Arango Imaging Center, please visit www.arangoimaging.com.

Vantage MRI - Unmatched Performance and Patient-Focused Features

The Vantage features an ultra-short magnet at 140 cm with linear 30 mT/m (milliTesla per meter) gradient strength with a slew rate of 50 T/m/s (Tesla per meter per second), or 130 T/m/s. Despite the short length of the magnet, the system delivers the highest homogeneity of any magnet in the industry over the full 50 cm diameter spherical volume (DSV).

The Toshiba Vantage also offers some of the most advanced MRI applications available on the market today, including optional packages for cardiac imaging, advanced Echo Planar Imaging (EPI), Perfusion and Diffusion Imaging, Peripheral MRA, and SuperFASE (Fast Advanced Spin Echo) imaging. In addition, Toshiba has pioneered research into contrast-free MRA with its Fresh Blood Imaging (FBI) protocol and Body Diffusion.

With Toshiba's patented Pianissimo technology, which reduces acoustic noise by as much as 90 percent, the Vantage dramatically reduces the most significant cause of patient discomfort and enables clinicians to better utilize all of the system's high-field MRI capabilities including SPEEDER parallel imaging for increased acquisition speed which reduces examination times. For more information about the Vantage, TAMS and its wide range of medical imaging products, please visit www.medical.toshiba.com.

About Toshiba

With headquarters in Tustin, Toshiba America Medical Systems markets, sells, distributes and services diagnostic imaging systems, and coordinates clinical diagnostic imaging research for all modalities in the United States. Toshiba Medical Systems Corp., an independent group company of Toshiba Corp., is a global leading provider of diagnostic medical imaging systems and comprehensive medical solutions, such as CT, X-ray, Ultrasound, Nuclear Medicine, MRI and information systems. Toshiba Corp. is a leader in information and communications systems, electronic components, consumer products, and power systems. Toshiba has approximately 162,000 employees worldwide and annual sales of $55 billion.

Excelart Vantage(TM) and Pianissimo(TM) are trademarks of Toshiba Medical Systems Corp.