TUSTIN, Calif., June 15, 2010 – In today’s demanding healthcare environment, many community hospitals require imaging equipment that provides a variety of advanced diagnostic exams with features that improve patient cooperation. To offer a variety of high-quality, comfortable MR exams to its patients, Central Washington Hospital in Wenatchee, Wash., selected Toshiba America Medical Systems’ Vantage Titan MR system.
In addition to routine exams like orthopedic, cardiac, general radiology and abdominal imaging, Central Washington has begun performing breast MR exams, as well as new sequences such as liver diffusion, since acquiring the Titan in early 2009. With all exams, patient compliance has improved. The Titan’s patient-friendly features that help reduce claustrophobia, such as the large, open bore, feet first imaging and noise reduction technology, have played a role in the improved compliance and also led to fewer patient cancellations.
Specifically designed to improve patient cooperation through more comfortable exams, the Titan MR has helped improve exam efficiency and accuracy at Central Washington Hospital while mitigating issues around imaging claustrophobic, bariatric and patients with renal compromise. The Titan’s large 71-cm aperture and open bore offers the industry’s largest clinical field-of-view (55×55×50 cm). The system also includes Toshiba’s patented Pianissimo technology, which reduces acoustic noise by as much as 90 percent, helping to increase the comfort level of patients during exams. The Titan also includes Atlas Technology to eliminate the need to reposition patients during exams by integrating the coils into the table. This feature reduces exam time and is more comfortable for the patient. It also enables feet-first imaging for a majority of exams, allowing patients to keep their head outside the bore.
Toshiba’s proprietary contrast-free techniques have also benefitted Central Washington, as the site can now safely image patients with renal insufficiency using MR. Previously, the facility was required to image these patients on other modalities and often had to use a combination of modalities to obtain a diagnosis. Toshiba’s proprietary contrast-free techniques include fresh blood imaging (FBI) for evaluating peripheral vascular diseases of the lower legs and extremities; contrast-free improved angiography (CIA) for easier visualization of smaller vessels; time-spatial labeling inversion pulse (Time-SLIP) for evaluating hemodynamic, functional assessments and visualization of vascular structures; and time and space angiography (TSA) to create non-contrast time-resolved imaging with high temporal resolution. Non-contrast techniques are safer for patients with renal conditions without compromising image quality.
The Vantage Titan MR system was purchased as part of a larger equipment upgrade taking place at Central Washington, in which the facility also acquired a Toshiba Aquilion 64 CT and Aquilion 32 CT to serve as backup systems for its busy emergency department. Since that time, Central Washington has had such success with Toshiba’s MR and CT systems that it recently purchased two more Toshiba systems, the Infinix CC-i cath lab and Infinix VC-i angio lab.
