News | Press Releases

---

March 26, 2007

TOSHIBA ACHIEVES GOLD-STAR STATUS FOR APLIO XG AND SECURES SPOT AS ONLY ULTRASOUND EXHIBITOR AT IHE BOOTH DURING ACC

TUSTIN, CA — March 26, 2007 — The Aplio™ XG ultrasound system from Toshiba America Medical Systems, Inc. (TAMS) received gold-star ratings for profiles recognized by Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise (IHE) at this year’s Connectathon, the healthcare IT industry’s only large-scale interoperability testing event, held January 15–19 in Chicago. The system received gold stars for compliance with the echo workflow, stress echo, consistent time and teaching file/clinical trial export profiles.

As a result of its exemplary performance, the Aplio XG will be featured as part of the technical demonstration in the IHE booth at this year’s American College of Cardiology (ACC) annual meeting in New Orleans (March 24–27, IHE Booth #2257). The demonstration will showcase these profiles being used in a clinical environment and demonstrate compatibility with a wide variety of connectivity devices. Aplio XG will be the only ultrasound system featured in the IHE booth this year.

“Toshiba is dedicated to developing medical equipment that meets and exceeds industry standards of interoperability,” said Gordon Parhar, director of the Ultrasound Business Unit at Toshiba. “We are thrilled to be included as the only vendor to exhibit in the IHE booth to showcase our advanced ultrasound technology.”

The Chicago IHE Connectathon focused on preparation for HIMSS 2007 and ACC 2007 and served as an industry-wide testing event where participants could test their implementations with those of other vendors. More than 75 healthcare IT vendors registered to test more than 150 systems at the event sponsored by the ACC, Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) and the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA). The Connectathon provides the most detailed validation of the participants’ integration work and the major goal is to promote the adoption in commercially available healthcare IT systems of the standards-based interoperability solutions defined by IHE.

Achieving gold star status represents a benefit for both the vendor and the customer. Customers know upfront if the machine has connectivity capability with other venders before they purchase it, which saves time and money. For vendors, a gold-star rating offers direction for development of current and future systems – by providing a connectivity standard for all medical equipment, which goes beyond today’s capability of DICOM and HL7.

Since 2001, the Aplio series has been awarded gold stars for a total of eight IHE-recognized profiles, which include SWF – Scheduled Workflow, PIR — Patient Information Reconciliation, PDI – Portable Data for Imaging, Teaching file and Clinical trial Export (TCE), Evidence Documents (ED), Echocardiography Workflow (ECHO), Stress Testing Workflow (STRESS) and Consistent Time (CT).

“Echocardiography imaging has come from VCR tapes and paper reports to a complete digital environment,” John Gorcsan III, M.D. — Professor of Medicine, Director of Echocardiology, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. “Not only are digital patient records more secure, but it’s very important to be able to access data quickly and integrate all of the patient information into one electronic record.”

Aplio XG
Offering the latest advancements in diagnostic performance and operator comfort, the next generation Aplio XG provides several enhancements that improve productivity, increase diagnostic confidence, facilitate connectivity and enhance ergonomics. Enhancements include a new iTOUCH® ergo-optimized control panel and 19″ LCD that have been added to increase user comfort. For more information about the Aplio XG, visit Toshiba’s ACC booth #2414 in Hall D or www.medical.toshiba.com

About Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise
IHE is an initiative by healthcare professionals and industry to improve the way computer systems in healthcare share information. IHE promotes the coordinated use of established standards such as DICOM and HL7 to address specific clinical needs in support of optimal patient care. Systems developed in accordance with IHE communicate with one another better, are easier to implement, and enable care providers to use information more effectively.

Physicians, medical specialists, nurses, administrators and other care providers envision a day when vital information can be passed seamlessly from system to system within and across departments and made readily available at the point of care. IHE is designed to make their vision a reality by improving the state of systems integration and removing barriers to optimal patient care.

About Toshiba
With headquarters in Tustin, Calif., Toshiba America Medical Systems markets, sells, distributes and services diagnostic imaging systems, and coordinates clinical diagnostic imaging research for all modalities in the United States. Toshiba Medical Systems Corp., an independent group company of Toshiba Corp., is a global leading provider of diagnostic medical imaging systems and comprehensive medical solutions, such as CT, Cath & EP Labs, X-ray, Ultrasound, Nuclear Medicine, MRI and information systems. Toshiba Corp. is a leader in information and communications systems, electronic components, consumer products, and power systems. Toshiba has approximately 172,000 employees worldwide and annual sales of $54 billion.