News | Press Releases

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April 7, 2009

HELENA CARDIOLOGY CLINIC ENHANCES PATIENT CARE WITH TOSHIBA 3D SPECKLE TRACKING CAPABILITIES

Toshiba’s Artida Improves Diagnostic Confidence, Productivity and Accuracy While Reducing Cost

TUSTIN, California — April 7, 2009 — The Helena Cardiology Clinic of Helena, Mont. has installed two Toshiba Aplio™ Artida ultrasound systems with 3D Wall Motion Tracking capabilities. 3D Wall Motion Tracking allows sonographers and physicians to more quickly and accurately identify wall motion defects and the timing of cardiac events. This greatly improves the detection of wall motion abnormalities in many cardiac disease states and Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy (CRT) and helps physicians optimize pace maker settings.

Dr. Richard Paustian, owner of the Helena Cardiology Clinic, purchased the Artida specifically for the 3D Wall Motion Tracking capabilities. “This advancement in imaging will enable me to better manage the care of my cardiac patients,” said Dr. Paustian. “In addition, these added clinical benefits enable us to expand our service offerings and provide a wider range of patients with advanced treatment.”

Using Artida’s real-time, multi-planar reformatting capabilities, physicians can assess global and regional LV function, including volumetric LV ejection fraction. Arbitrary views of the heart, not available in 2D imaging, are also obtained to help with surgical planning. The 3D Wall Motion Tracking features from Toshiba allow the user to obtain angle-independent, global and regional information about myocardial contraction. It is hoped these features will enable acquisition of additional data that could be of value in echo-guided CRT and in stress echocardiography.

“Ensuring that our customers have access to advanced clinical applications to best serve patients is a commitment that Toshiba takes seriously,” said Girish Hagan, vice president, Marketing, Toshiba. “We strive to introduce features that continue to improve diagnostic confidence and streamline clinical workflow, so that our customers can best serve patients’ needs.”

About Helena Cardiology Clinic

The Helena Cardiology Clinic, located in Helena, Mont., is owned and operated by award winning physician, Dr. Richard Paustian. The clinic offers an array of cardiology services including cardiac catheterization and interventions, management of peripheral vascular diseases and echocardiography. For more information, visit www.helenacardiology.com.

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.