Siemens Highlights Its Commitment to Excellence in Cardiology at ACC 2010

ATLANTA, March 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Siemens Healthcare addresses the clinical and business needs of cardiology service lines at the 59th Annual Scientific Session of the American College of Cardiology (ACC), March 14-16 in Atlanta, in booth #1018. With a commitment to excellence, Siemens empowers its customers with the necessary tools to compete in today's changing world of cardiology, and help them meet their strategic and metric goals. Siemens' complete portfolio of cardiology technologies and solutions in medical imaging, laboratory diagnostics, cardiovascular information technology (IT) solutions, workflow, and customized support offerings can be found at www.usa.siemens.com/acc2010.

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"Our highly experienced team of Siemens Cardiology professionals is dedicated to providing innovative solutions in in-vitro and in-vivo diagnostics and IT that help increase healthcare efficiency, save lives and improve patient care," said Michael Reitermann, chief executive officer, Customer Solutions Group, Siemens Healthcare. "Siemens can help its customers in achieving high clinical and business performance goals in this competitive environment."

This year, Siemens will participate in the ACC's Hands-On Learning Labs, located in the exhibit hall area. These labs provide attendees with the opportunity to receive hands-on user training in Siemens technologies. This unique format combines a presentation by a clinical or technical expert on a specific topic with a tutorial leading the attendees through procedures with a specific device, piece of equipment or workstation. Siemens will be offering Hands-On Learning Labs in computed tomography, magnetic resonance, molecular imaging and ultrasound. If you are attending the conference and would like to register for any of the Learning Labs, please visit www.usa.siemens.com/acc2010-hands-on-labs.

At ACC 2010, Siemens will demonstrate its commitment to clinical excellence in cardiology. Come and experience our cardiology solutions -- from advanced imaging and laboratory diagnostics to the latest IT solutions.

Part of Siemens' commitment to excellence in cardiology is the support of peer-to-peer experience exchange. Join us for our hands-on learning labs to interact with clinical experts as they guide you in reading typical findings in cardiovascular CT and MR, Echocardiography, and Nuclear Cardiology.

At ACC 2010, Siemens will also display its full spectrum of cardiovascular solutions, including:

Interventional Cardiology

Siemens highlights imaging excellence and workflow enhancements for cardiology with the ultimate hybrid, the first-to-market Artis zeego®, a multi-axis system that enables variable working height and unparalleled positioning freedom, without impacting the laminar air flow field. The Artis zeego is part of the Artis zee® family of interventional imaging in cardiology, radiology, and surgery. syngo® DynaCT Cardiac, available with all Artis zee systems, uniquely supports cross-sectional 3D images of the beating heart via rotational angiography.

The Artis zeego is now available with small detector, which enables cardiologists to have optimized visualization of the heart while achieving steeper angles. Our medical grade large display further enhances our solution offering with a full-color, 56-inch screen where users can select their preferred screen layout for the planned procedure at tableside.

The Artis zee family also now integrates with IZ3D, a new online quantitative measurement tool which provides high-speed quantification for accurate lesion measurement. Physicians can use the tool to precisely assess a lesion's diameter profile and the degree of stenosis via a 3D model of the vessel. This model can be rotated freely in space to eliminate foreshortening effects,

Cardiovascular CT

Siemens demonstrates fast speed and lowest possible dose for cardiac applications with the SOMATOM® Definition Flash dual source computed tomography (CT) scanner. The SOMATOM Definition Flash requires only a fraction of the radiation dose that systems previously required to scan even the tiniest anatomical details faster than ever before. Scanning the thorax, including the heart, can be done in only 0.6 seconds, taking the burden of breath-holding off the patient and allowing functional imaging for body regions up to 48 cm. Temporal resolution of 75 ms and scan speed of up to 43 cm/s make heart-scanning without beta-blockers possible and, for the first time, breath-hold optional with dose levels below 1 millisievert (mSv).

This offers considerable advantages, especially in cases involving the elderly, children, emergency, and ICU patients. Since its introduction in November 2008, the Flash has gained worldwide acceptance, with 18 systems installed in the U.S., and more than 100 worldwide. Siemens' vision of greatly improving patient care is being realized, with a scanner that takes our unmatched dual source technology to a whole new level, and is set to change your perception of radiation dose. 

Cardiovascular In-Vitro Diagnostics

At ACC, Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics will highlight new clinical findings that demonstrate the importance and value of cardiac biomarker testing in the treatment and care of cancer patients exposed to potential cardio-toxic effects of chemotherapeutic agents. Cardiac biomarkers, such as troponin I and natriuretic peptides, are well-established for risk stratification of patients with acute coronary syndromes and heart failure. Studies have shown that these biomarkers may also be useful in the early detection of chemo-therapy induced cardio-toxicity.

ACC attendees are invited to visit the Siemens booth to review an educational presentation about cardiac biomarker testing in oncology patients and the future potential for early testing and intervention to help prevent adverse cardiac effects in oncology patients.

Step into the Diagnostics section of the Siemens booth to learn more about our comprehensive cardiovascular and oncology product portfolio and the power of collaboration in cardiac care.

Cardiovascular IT Solutions

Siemens Cardiovascular IT Solutions optimize clinical workflows through integration of imaging and information, and are designed to make healthcare faster, better and more cost-effective. With syngo® Dynamics, Siemens' multi-modality image viewing and archiving system, knowledge-driven tools are clinically-derived and include clinical decision support options and evidence-based structured reporting.

syngo Dynamics version 9.0(1) introduces new administrative tools to enhance the clinical experience, supports additional reductions in report turnaround time, offers real time display of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), and more.

Siemens will also showcase its knowledge-driven healthcare data-mining tool, Soarian® Quality Measures, which supports healthcare providers' goals to streamline their quality improvement process by automating chart abstraction and helping expedite the submission of quality measures, as defined by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and The Joint Commission. For cardiologists, Soarian Quality Measures automatically abstracts and presents the relevant evidence from the two heart related CMS topics: Acute Myocardial Infarction and Heart Failure.

Finally, Siemens will demonstrate how its latest imaging software for multimodality reading of clinical cases, syngo.via(2), places special focus on reading efficiency through automated case preparation and structured case navigation across multiple specialties, including cardiology. It's more than just information or technology; it's about efficiently enabling the best possible patient care.

Cardiovascular MR

Siemens Healthcare redefines productivity in Cardiovascular MRI with a new generation of Tim® (Total imaging matrix) technology and the introduction of Dot™ (Day optimizing throughput) engine. Tim and Dot(3) deliver patient-centered care and significantly improve productivity across the entire MRI workflow. Tim 4G is the fourth generation of Tim, Siemens' well known technology with more than 5,000 installations worldwide. Tim 4G(3) offers ultra-high density coils with 204 coil elements and up to 128 channels, DirectRF™ and other features for improved flexibility, accuracy and speed.  

Dot is MRI's first throughput engine and makes it easy to get the best possible results for virtually any type of patient, providing uniquely tailored, optimized scans configurable to patient condition or clinical question. With real-time on-board guidance, Dot guides the user, step by step through exams, providing instant help, how-to descriptions, and example images, readily, within view. With the Cardiac Dot Engine even the complex cardiac examinations are becoming more routine. Using anatomical landmarks, standard views of the heart, such as dedicated long axis and short-axis views are easily generated and can easily be reproduced using different scanning techniques. Scan parameters are adjusted to the patient's heart rate and automatic voice commands are given.

Initial studies at the Royal Bournemouth Hospital in the United Kingdom allowed all 16 technologists on staff to perform Cardiac Stress exams compared to only two technologists prior to using the Cardiac Dot Engine. 

Both technologies are offered in Siemens MRI scanners MAGNETOM Aera (1.5T)(3) and MAGNETOM Skyra (3T)(3).

Nuclear Cardiology

Siemens Molecular Imaging will highlight cardiology solutions in diagnostic SPECT-CT and PET-CT imaging with IQ-SPECT technology, and five-minute SPECT-CT scans with available calcium scoring, and syngo Dynamic PET with Myocardial Blood Flow, a new cardiac imaging software application for the industry-leading Biograph® PET-CT scanners. syngo Dynamic PET with Myocardial Blood Flow is the first and only FDA-cleared software from a major vendor to offer a new method for quantitatively evaluating the extent of ischemia via high-performance PET-CT imaging and advanced applications. It works by enabling a more definitive measurement of myocardial blood flow during PET perfusion studies compared to regular myocardial perfusion studies(4) (data on file). This additional information may have significant impact on the diagnosis of patients with advanced coronary artery disease (CAD) and specifically, those patients with multi-vessel disease, or those who are asymptomatic.

Traditional applications in nuclear medicine such as myocardial perfusion are becoming even more effective with the addition of the diagnostic CT in Siemens Symbia TruePoint SPECT-CT. Additionally, IQ-SPECT raises the bar by enabling a comprehensive cardiac evaluation including perfusion, organ-centric magnification, attenuation correction and calcium scoring in just five minutes. The quick, low-dose spiral CT scan that is currently used to obtain attenuation correction information can also be used as a critical element in the cardiac work-up to screen patients for coronary artery disease. Calcium scoring is an independent indicator of prognosis in CAD and in combination with SPECT may help improve diagnostic confidence.

Cardiovascular Ultrasound

The 1.2 release of the ACUSON SC2000™ volume imaging ultrasound system represents the latest in the evolution of echocardiography delivering non-stitched, real-time full volume imaging of the heart in one single heart cycle. The system allows automatic extraction of reference planes from continuous cardiac volume imaging for measurement, analysis, and interpretation. This paradigm shift streamlines workflow efficiency and automation to increase diagnostic confidence. New to the ACUSON SC2000 system is the unique IN Focus coherent imaging technology: Without the need to continuously set and select a given location of best focus, IN Focus technology sharpens the full-field image at all times -- without sacrificing frame rate.

Siemens will also be showcasing its unique knowledge-based workflow applications, which are designed to automate measurements for rapid, accurate and reproducible results.

• syngo® Velocity Vector Imaging™ (VVI) technology instantaneously measures motion at any point in the cardiac cycle.
• syngo Auto Left Heart (Auto LH) technology automatically generates left atrial and left ventricular volumes and ejection fractions rapidly and reliably.
• syngo Arterial Health Package (AHP)(5) provides physicians with the capability to measure carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT).

These clinical applications and more will be demonstrated on the ACUSON S2000 Cardiovascular (CV) ultrasound system, a comprehensive dedicated cardiovascular system for pediatric, neonatal, vascular, and OR environments. The ACUSON S2000 CV system offers individually customizable protocols for maximum user flexibility to further streamline echocardiography workflow and accelerate cardiovascular throughput.

With the ACUSON X300™ ultrasound system, Premium Edition (PE), Siemens offers advanced diagnostic tools to meet all clinical challenges in the daily clinical routine. The system delivers excellent imaging performance in a compact color Doppler system and offers contrast agent imaging(6), fourSight™ TEE view, and integrated stress echo. Anatomical M-mode, DTI™ Doppler Tissue Imaging technology, and ACUSON AcuNav™ ultrasound catheter familial complete the package.

(1) This information about this product is preliminary. The product is under development and not commercially available for sale in the U.S. and its future availability cannot be ensured.

(2) syngo.via can be used as a standalone device or together with a variety of syngo.via-based software options, which are medical devices in their own rights.

(3) The information about this product is being provided for planning purposes. The product is pending 510(k) review, and is not yet commercially available in the U.S.

(4) Siemens is the only vendor to offer an integrated myocardial blood flow solution (i.e., PET/CT scanner plus FDA-approved software). Of the major PET/CT vendors to date, only Siemens has released an FDA-cleared myocardial blood flow solution.

(5) This feature should be utilized according to the "ASE Consensus Statement " Use of Carotid Ultrasound to Identify Subclinical Vascular Disease and Evaluate Cardiovascular Disease Risk: A Consensus Statement from the American Society of Echocardiography Carotid Intima-Media Thickness Task Force, Endorsed by the Society for Vascular Medicine"

(6) At the time of publication, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has cleared ultrasound contrast agents only for use in LVO. Check current regulations for the country in which you are using this system for contract agent clearance.

The Siemens Healthcare Sector is one of the world's largest suppliers to the healthcare industry and a trendsetter in medical imaging, laboratory diagnostics, medical information technology and hearing aids. Siemens offers its customers products and solutions for the entire range of patient care from a single source -- from prevention and early detection to diagnosis, and on to treatment and aftercare. By optimizing clinical workflows for the most common diseases, Siemens also makes healthcare faster, better and more cost-effective. Siemens Healthcare employs some 48,000 employees worldwide and operates around the world. In fiscal year 2009 (to September 30), the Sector posted revenue of 11.9 billion euros and profit of around 1.5 billion euros. For further information please visit: www.siemens.com/healthcare.

SOURCE Siemens Healthcare

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