Ultrasound System Offers New Imaging Algorithm for Optimum Image Quality

A software update featuring a powerful new imaging algorithm for an ultrasound system provides sophisticated imaging enhancments such as dynamic tissue contrast enhancement (TCE) technology and Advanced SieClear spatial compounding, which provides improved speckle reduction and contrast resolution for further enhanced clarity, color, and penetration, revealing great detail in all exam types and all transducers.

With these imaging enhancements on its Acuson S2000 ultrasound system, combined with advanced three-dimensional (3D)/4D imaging capabilities, Siemens Healthcare (Erlangen, Germany) demonstrated the clinical benefits of advanced imaging performance at the 2011 annual convention of the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine (AIUM) in April 2011 New York, NY, USA.

These latest image quality enhancements offer reduced haze and noise for cleaner, crisper images--particularly in breast imaging--leading to advanced diagnostic confidence and higher clinical flexibility. Highlights on the Acuson S2000 system are virtual touch tissue imaging, and Virtual touch tissue quantification, Siemens' implementations of acoustic radiation force imaging (ARFI). "With virtual touch HD [high definition] technology, we have introduced our second-generation of tissue strain imaging, which offers even greater sensitivity and accuracy," said Dr. Norbert Gaus, CEO, ultrasound, Siemens Healthcare. "It allows the clinician to confidently obtain accurate quantification of lesion tissue stiffness, further enhancing clinical insight into suspicious findings."

Virtual touch tissue quantification uniquely introduced the ability to use ultrasound to provide a numerical value related to tissue stiffness at a precise anatomic location, which is highly promising in identifying early stages of liver diseases causing cirrhosis. Newly available on the 9L4 transducer, the technology provides increased flexibility to encompass a wide range of imaging, giving physicians the tools they need to analyze small parts accurately, including breast and thyroid.

"These leading-edge technologies redefine the use of ultrasound in the diagnosis, treatment, and therapy of diseases affecting areas of the body that cannot be examined through physical palpation," said Dr. Gaus.

Conventional fusion techniques can take up to 30 minutes to set up and often require several attempts. Moreover, patients need to lie completely still during the entire exam--which can be unrealistic and impractical--or the setup must be repeated. The Siemens fusion solution incorporates proprietary technology that automatically aligns a computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) image to the current ultrasound view. This approach greatly accelerates workflow and improves the accuracy of image alignment, allowing fusion imaging to be incorporated into existing practice.

Siemens' exclusive syngo.fourSight Workplace image management software provides a new dimension to volume imaging with true stereoscopic views of 3D images. Developed using 3D Vision technology from Nvidia Corp. (Santa Clara, CA, USA), syngo.fourSight Workplace creates a 3D imaging experience that is immersive, detailed, and realistic. Using stereoscopic glasses and high-end professional graphics solutions, the technology creates the most amazing 3D/4D images of the fetus that parents and doctors are able to view in true 3D. "This technology takes 3D/4D ultrasound imaging to the next level," said Dr. Gaus. "syngo.fourSight Workplace offers a truly remarkable ultrasound experience that's rewarding for expectant parents and their doctors, while also delivering practical benefits in medicine."

The clinical images are additionally enhanced using amnioscopic rendering, a Siemens-exclusive technology that produces realistic 3D images by diffusing a user-movable light source into the imaged structure, resulting in a more accurate representation of the fetus. This quality improvement may provide additional data to the physician and assist in communication between surgeons and patients or aid in treatment or surgical planning.

Related Links:
Siemens Healthcare
Nvidia