Toshiba will use the 2006 RSNA meeting as a springboard for the launch of the company's first 3-tesla MRI scanner. The Tustin, CA, company will also demonstrate new radiofrequency (RF) coil technology for its 1.5-tesla scanner, as well as new scanning sequences.
Vantage 3T will be shown as a work-in-progress and marks Toshiba's entry into the 3-telsa MRI segment, which is becoming the top end of the clinical MRI market. The system uses the Pianissimo noise-reduction technology found on other scanners in Toshiba's product line, and Toshiba is expected to tout the system's short magnet and high homogeneity specifications. U.S. Food and Drug Administration clearance of the system is pending.
Toshiba's established Vantage 1.5-tesla scanner will be shown with a new RF coil system called Atlas technology. Atlas employs a new coil technology that incorporates high element density and multiple coil ports on the patient table, enabling users to employ 128 coil elements simultaneously. Atlas results in high-resolution images with a large field-of-view, according to the company. Toshiba is in the process of filing for regulatory clearance of Atlas with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Vantage Atlas Plus is another work-in-progress magnet with an elliptical bore opening and a 50-cm field-of-view. It also includes Toshiba's new Atlas coil technology, and is targeted at hospitals and large imaging centers. The system can perform all of Toshiba's 1.5-tesla clinical applications.
Finally, Toshiba will demonstrate new scanning sequences on its Vantage ZGV 1.5-tesla scanner, which was first introduced at the 2005 RSNA show. The protocols are optimized for Vantage ZGV's high gradient performance (200 mT/m/msec slew rate) and enhanced image quality, and feature the company's Mach 8 processor, which reconstructs data at a rate of 1,300 images per second.
By Brian Casey
AuntMinnie.com staff writer
November 1, 2006
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