Posted on 06/13/2008 6:34:54 PM PDT by PeaceBeWithYou
The FINANCIAL -- As a testament to the growing demand to improve patient care while reducing healthcare costs, Toshiba America Medical Systems, Inc. has installed the first Aquilion ONE dynamic volume CT system in the Western U.S. at Nevada Imaging Centers in Las Vegas."As the only dynamic volume CT system in the world, the Aquilion ONE's ability to image an entire organ and show function means faster, more accurate diagnosis, better patient outcomes and ultimately lower healthcare costs," explained Dr. William W. Orrison, chief of Neuroradiology, Nevada Imaging Centers. "Nevada Imaging Centers is committed to best-in-class solutions for its thousands of patients and is thrilled to be the first site in the Western U.S. to offer this truly revolutionary technology."
Toshiba's Aquilion ONE dynamic volume CT system, which was first unveiled less than six months ago at the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) annual meeting, utilizes 320 ultra high resolution detector rows (0.5 mm in width) to image an entire organ in a single gantry rotation. The result is unparalleled in diagnostic imaging today and produces a 4D clinical video showing up to 16 cm of anatomical coverage, enough to capture the entire brain or heart, and show its movement such as blood flow.
"We believe the Aquilion ONE's ability to scan an entire organ, including large organs like the brain, and show the organ's dynamic movement will reduce the diagnosis time of stroke, heart conditions and other life-threatening diseases from hours and days to just mere minutes," added Dr. Orrison. "For our patients, detecting disease at its earliest stages is critical and can have significant positive impacts on their quality of life."
In addition, the Aquilion ONE's single, comprehensive exam can provide physicians with data to replace a variety of duplicative tests and invasive procedures.
"Toshiba designed the Aquilion ONE for today's healthcare environment," said Doug Ryan, senior director, CT Business Unit, Toshiba. "By replacing several tests with this single exam, the Aquilion ONE will allow physicians to treat at-risk patients immediately – saving resources and time for both healthcare facilities and patients."
Nevada Imaging Centers will use the Aquilion ONE dynamic volume CT system to diagnose at-risk patients with a variety of medical conditions, including cardiovascular disease, cerebral vascular disease and musculoskeletal injuries.
Or even, “Beam me bones up.”
1) How much do they cost?
2) Will Obamacare put one in every Hospital at no cost to me?
/johnny
They cost about two and a half million dollars. But radiology departments are the drivers of most hospitals these days; they bring in most of the revenue so they get the huge suites and the radiologists get the fanciest toys and the most influence. It’s amazing what they can do these days.
People who complain about the costs of health care today must bear in mind that it cost $500 million to develop this thing and the cost has to be recouped somehow, so the pricetag is high, and then the hospitals have to charge insurance carriers a lot to recoup the cost of the purchase.
Obamacare is going to put one of these in a hospital a thousand miles away from you and then make you wait six months for an appointment. By the time they can fit you in, your cancer will have metastasized and the radiologists will be able to tell you with great precision how many more days you have before you croak. Enjoy.
I bet the oil industry will snap these up, too, for visualizing oil formations.
You’re making a joke, yes?
Absolutely no joke. The technology for 3D medical imaging is very similar to the technology for 3D seismic imaging of geological structures, and I think it very likely that geophysicists would want a similar tool for visualizing what’s underground.
couldnt make it through the sentence without falling asleep.
It will be the first and only example of this technology ever to be available in Canada. There will be an 8 month waiting list (waived if you are a typical sleazy Liberal Party hack).
Images from the Aquilion One (the complete images run in dynamic movies):
To be amazed and have your jaw drop, check out the collection at Toshiba’s Aquilion ONE Movie Theatre! I am speechless!
http://www.medical.toshiba.com/products/ct/DynamicVolume/ClinicalCardiac01.aspx
I did a rotation with Dr Orrison here at NIC; I am actually in the building right now doing some research (although not on this particular machine). I can tell you he is an amazing person, kind, generous, incredibly knowledgeable (understatment), and a very hard worker who has built up an incredible imaging center here with top rate cutting edge technology. He’s the kind of doc you want reading your neuro films and, IMO, represents the kind of capitalist who advances US healthcare through private industry and innovation.
I should have RTFA. Without reading I thought it was some sort of volumetric 3D display capability, but it’s actually an integrated 3D CT system. Very impressive, but not directly relevant to oil exploration.
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