Toshiba Aquilion 16 Advances Pediatric CT Imaging with Unmatched Safety and Clinical Benefits.

Health/Medical Writers

TUSTIN, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 25, 2003

Top Pediatric Hospitals in the United States Choose the Aquilion 16

to Deliver Accurate Diagnosis While Minimizing Radiation Dose

Toshiba America Medical Systems (TAMS) leads the advancement in pediatric computed tomography (CT) with the Aquilion(TM) 16 multislice CT scanner that helps enable rapid, accurate diagnosis while minimizing exposure of radiation to pediatric patients. With the Aquilion's efficient detector design and dose management tools, developed in part to control radiation exposure, the system has become the pediatric CT scanner of choice for many medical institutions in the United States -- including The Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Mo., Long Beach Memorial Medical Center in Calif., Iowa Methodist Medical Center in Des Moines, Minnesota Hospital in St. Paul, Arkansas Children's Hospital in Little Rock, and Seattle Children's Hospital.

"With its true isotropic 0.5 mm resolution and 400-millisecond scanning capabilities, the Aquilion 16 multislice CT system is changing the way pediatric CT is performed. It's now faster, more accurate and uses less radiation than previous CT systems," said Doug Ryan, director, CT Business Unit. "Working in conjunction with pediatric clinicians from the best children's hospitals in the U.S., the Aquilion 16 has delivered significant clinical benefits to all areas of pediatric CT, including cardiovascular, neuro, orthopedic and body imaging."

Toshiba's Aquilion 16 is the most advanced multislice CT system in the world. The Selectable Slice-thickness Multi-row Detector (SSMD) of the Aquilion 16 allows up to seven varying image slice thicknesses, from 0.5 mm to 0.8 mm, which can be selected based on the objectives of the examination. The Aquilion 16 generates up to 40 slices per second using the SSMD and permits simultaneous 16-slice acquisition per 400-millisecond gantry rotation for volumetric data acquisition.

Effective Radiation Dose Management and Safety Benefits

With the new generation technology of the Aquilion 16, dose reduction is accomplished in multiple ways without sacrificing diagnostic accuracy. An efficient detector design permits the use of very low levels of radiation during scans. The rotation speed of the Aquilion 16 also eliminates the need to scan in multiple planes. Faster imaging results in fewer poor quality scans related to motion -- which translates to less repeat exams. Additionally, shorter exam times with the Aquilion 16 are better tolerated by children.

The Aquilion 16 scanner's dose modulation per slice using the Real Exposure Control feature automatically adjusts the radiation administered to the thickness of the body part being scanned -- this further reduces radiation exposure to lesser attenuating body regions of children.

Unmatched Clinical Benefits

The Aquilion 16 has changed the practice of CT and improved all areas of pediatric CT imaging. In vascular imaging, non-invasive CT angiography can enable diagnosis of vascular abnormalities in the brain, chest, heart and abdomen and, in many cases, eliminate the need for invasive medical procedures. To aid orthopedic surgical planning and to use it in the detection of skeletal abnormalities, the Aquilion 16 enables 3-D image reconstruction from a single isotropic axial data set acquired at 0.5 mm slice thickness.

High-resolution images of the head, neck, chest, abdomen and pelvis obtained in seconds with the Aquilion 16 can also benefit trauma patients. Rapid scanning and diagnosis in critical cases allow a patient to go from the emergency room to the CT suite to the operating room in a matter of minutes -- saving critical time and eliminating the need for catheter angiography.

Faster scanning also allows higher image quality with less motion artifact in body and neuro imaging. Exams can be performed in infants and young children without sedation while multiplanar reconstruction of data sets eliminates the need to scan in more than one plane and can greatly improve diagnosis.

For more information about the Aquilion 16, TAMS and its wide range of medical imaging products, visit the company's Web site at www.medical.toshiba.com.

About Toshiba

With headquarters in Tustin, Toshiba America Medical Systems markets, sells, distributes and services diagnostic imaging systems, coordinates clinical diagnostic imaging research and has responsibility for research and development for all modalities in the United States. Toshiba Medical Systems Corp., an independent group company of Toshiba Corp., is a world leader in the development of medical imaging equipment, with a product line-up that includes CT, MRI, nuclear medicine, ultrasound, and both conventional and vascular X-ray systems. Toshiba Corp. is a leader in information and communications systems, electronic components, consumer products, and power systems. Toshiba has 166,000 employees worldwide and annual sales of over $47 billion.