3T MR System Enhances Patient Comfort, Improves Exam Efficiency

For many patients, claustrophobia and acoustic noise can make magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) uncomfortable. A 3T MRI system has been designed to improve patient compliance and comfort while offering advanced radiology capabilities for healthcare facilities.

Toshiba Medical Systems (Tokyo, Japan) presented its new Vantage Titan 3T open bore MR (pending US Food and Drug Administration [FDA] 510k clearance) at this year's Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) annual meeting, held in Chicago, IL, USA, November 28-December 3, 2010. The new patient-focused system is the only 3T MR offering patient-friendly features such as noise reduction, a wide and open bore, feet-first imaging, and Toshiba's proprietary contrast-free techniques.


By making MR exams more comfortable for patients, patient compliance, exam efficiency, and technologist productivity are improved. Vantage Titan 3T MR combines patient comfort with the power of additional diagnostic capabilities. Benefits of the Vantage Titan 3T open bore MR include Vantage Titan's open bore with a 71-cm aperture. The bore's larger diameter enables hospitals to scan bariatric patients with greater ease and provides patients with a greater feeling of openness to reduce claustrophobia.

Toshiba's exclusive Pianissimo noise-reduction technology, which reduces exam noise by up to 90%, makes the Vantage Titan 3T MR extremely quiet and solves one of the 3T market's greatest patient compliance issues. Since the patient experiences lower noise levels with Pianissimo, patients stay more relaxed during exams and fewer motion artifacts are acquired, which helps improve image quality. Pianissimo also helps technologists image patients more successfully and reduces repeat exams.

Contrast-free magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) exams, including 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 space angiography (TSA) to create noncontrast time-resolved imaging with high temporal resolution. Toshiba is the only imaging vendor to offer advanced contrast-free MRA techniques.

The Vantage Titan 3T MR also utilizes Toshiba's Atlas Speeder integrated coil technology to reduce exam time and improve the overall exam experience for patients. Because the coils are integrated into the table, patients do not need to be continually repositioned for many exams, which saves time and improves patient comfort.

Moreover, the Vantage Titan 3T MR is equipped with the new user interface--M-Power--to further improve ease of use for technologists.

"By listening to our customers, we understand that patient compliance is one of the major issues impacting exam efficiency in the MR industry today,” said Stuart Clarkson, director, MR business unit, Toshiba. "Toshiba's new Vantage Titan 3T MR is an example of our commitment to developing technology to meet our customers' specific needs and enabling them to improve the exam experience, resulting in better patient compliance and throughput without sacrificing diagnostic confidence.”

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