Toshiba Launches Advanced Features Cardiovascular Package for Aplio

By MedImaging International staff writers
Posted on 27 Aug 2012

Toshiba Corporation (Tokyo, Japan), via its medical systems subsidiary in Europe Toshiba Medical Systems Europe (TMSE; Zoetermeer, The Netherlands), plans to launch its cardiovascular package for the new Aplio series ultrasound systems at the ESC Congress in Munich (Germany) taking place during August 25-28, 2012.

Toshiba Medical Systems Europe introduced “Picture Perfect Ultrasound” to the cardiovascular segment on Aplio 300, 400, and 500. Enhancement for the ultrasound systems includes advanced features such as Tissue Enhancement and Wall Motion Tracking. Toshiba’s Cardiovascular Package developed with ideas contributed from Japan, Europe, and the US, includes features such as Tissue Enhancement for extreme image quality in transthoracic and transesophageal imaging, flexible M-Mode, comprehensive measurement programs, an on-board reporting module, a user-friendly stress echo-imaging tool, and software for automatic measurement of intima-media thickness (IMT).

Image: Regional strain analysis in posterolateral infarction: Apical long axis view shows normal contraction of the anterior wall segments with the red and orange color. The posterior wall segments (green) show a typical low systolic longitudinal strain value of the inner myocardial layer with a delayed peak in early diastole in the posterolateral infarcted zone (Photo courtesy of Toshiba Medical).

Wim van Ingen-Schenau, Product Manager for Cardiac Ultrasound at TMSE explains, “The new Aplios can operate a wide range of high performance transducers, so we can offer for many applications in the areas of echocardiography and vascular imaging very powerful, user friendly, and flexible workflow solutions.”

“A highlight of the Cardiovascular Package is the new Wall Motion Tracking application” as Willem Gorissen, Clinical Market Manager for Echocardiography at Toshiba Medical Systems Europe emphasizes, “we have migrated ‘high-fidelity’ raw data based speckle-tracking technology from the latest version of the Artida, our flagship product in echocardiography, to the new Aplio series. Our customers immediately benefit from the experience we have gained over time with Wall Motion Tracking on the Artida. We are fully supporting the initiative of the American Society of Echocardiography (ASE) and the European Association of Echocardiography (EAE) to achieve a standardization of speckle tracking measurements, and our engineers are closely following their recommendations and guidelines. Wall Motion Tracking on the new Aplio is easy-to-operate, contains comprehensive measurement capabilities, including various strain and strain rate parameters, and can be evaluated directly on the ultrasound system or off-line on the post-processing workstation.”

Cardiovascular Ultrasound is playing an increasingly important role in the management of Cardiovascular disease. “It is a noninvasive, highly accurate, and comprehensive diagnostic modality that gives quickly critical information regarding the structure and function of the heart and the cardiovascular system. Innovations in speckle tracking and increasingly sophisticated image analysis algorithms enable us to assess the heart more effectively & efficiently with ultrasound,” said Dr. Christoph Simm, Senior Manager of the Business Unit Ultrasound at TMSE.

Related Links:
Toshiba Medical Systems Europe