News | Press Releases

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December 1, 2008

TOSHIBA INSTALLS VANTAGE TITAN MR SYSTEMS AT PRESTIGIOUS MEDICAL INSTITUTIONS ACROSS THE COUNTRY

With the Industry’s Largest Bore and Noise Reduction Technology, the Titan Improves Patient MR Experiences

CHICAGO — December 1, 2008 — A year after its successful debut at the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) meeting in 2007, the Vantage Titan™ MR system has been installed at some of the leading hospitals and medical imaging facilities in the country. The Vantage Titan will be one of the featured MR systems at this year’s RSNA annual meeting in Chicago, Nov. 30 – Dec. 5, 2008 (Booth #3429, South Hall).

The system’s 71-centimeter opening, the largest in the industry, and patented noise reduction technology are popular features. Some of the facilities to install the new Vantage Titan include Health Scan Imaging, a network of imaging centers in Calif.; St. John’s Regional Medical Center, a leading healthcare provider in Joplin, Mo.; Southern Ohio Medical Center, an acute healthcare system in Portsmouth, Ohio; Riddle Memorial Hospital in Media, Pa.; Mercy Medical Center located in downtown Baltimore, Md.; Roxborough Memorial Hospital, a 137-bed community hospital in Philadelphia, Pa.; and Scotland Health Care System in Laurinburg, N.C.

“Toshiba is committed to helping patients feel more comfortable when undergoing diagnostic exams, while also enhancing diagnostic confidence for physicians,” said Bob Giegerich, director, MR Business Unit, Toshiba. “Claustrophobia and noise are the biggest complaints about MR and the Vantage Titan helps solve these problems with its large bore size and dramatic noise reducing technology. Additionally, Vantage Titan’s large clinical field-of-view is unique for this bore size and produces high-quality images without compromising homogeneity or overall imaging performance. “The Vantage Titan’s features significantly improve patient comfort and increase the range of patients who can undergo a MR exam. Claustrophobic and obese patients are able to be imaged with MR because the open bore provides a greater feeling of openness and allows more room for the patient. Toshiba’s patented Pianissimo™ technology dramatically reduces acoustic noise, the most significant cause of patient discomfort during a MR exam. Finally, patients sensitive to contrast agents now have an option for a contrast-free MRA exam.

The open bore of the 1.5T Vantage Titan MR system is 18 percent larger than other 1.5T systems on the market and features a large 71-centimeter patient aperture, outstanding homogeneity and the largest available clinical field-of-view (FOV) of 55 x 55 x 50 cm. The 30/130 gradient platform of the Vantage Titan provides unparalleled power. It also has a guaranteed homogeneity specification of two parts per million over a 50 x 50 x 50 cm DSV and a 1.4-meter magnet length, producing exceptional image quality.

The Vantage Titan MR system also takes advantage of Toshiba’s proprietary contrast-free MRA techniques – Fresh Blood Imaging (FBI), Contrast-free Improved Angiography (CIA), Time-Spatial Labeling Inversion Pulse (Time-SLIP) and Time and Space Angiography (TSA). Contrast-free imaging is particularly important because gadolinium, the most common contrast agent used for MR exams, has been directly linked to a potentially fatal disease that has occurred in patients with renal insufficiency, called Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis (NSF) or Nephrogenic Fibrosing Dermopathy (NFD). These contrast-free protocols allow for safer scanning of patients with known renal compromise and diabetes.

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, MRI and information systems. Toshiba Corp. is a leader in information and communications systems, electronic components, consumer products, and power systems. Toshiba has approximately 198,000 employees worldwide and annual sales of $77 billion. For more information, visit www.medical.toshiba.com.

Vantage Titan and Pianissimo are trademarks of Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation.