News | Press Releases


April 29, 2009

Aquilion ONE CT SYSTEM ENABLES ST. VINCENT HEALTHCARE TO EXPAND SERVICE LINES AND IMPROVE PATIENT CARE

Aquilion ONE is Foundation for New Cardiovascular, Neurological and Pediatric Care Programs

TUSTIN, California — April 29, 2009 — To better serve the needs of a growing patient population and bring the most advanced imaging technology to the community, St. Vincent Healthcare in Billings, Mont. installed Toshiba America Medical Systems, Inc.’s Aquilion® ONE, the world’s first dynamic volume CT system. The advanced technology of the Aquilion ONE is enabling St. Vincent to expand its service lines and develop industry leading programs for disease diagnosis. In operation since October 2008, St. Vincent has utilized the Aquilion ONE as a foundation to advance cardiovascular, neurological and pediatric care programs.

“The technology of the Aquilion ONE, including its ability to lower radiation dose and image entire organs in a single rotation while reducing healthcare costs, has allowed us to expand our service lines into advanced cardiovascular disease diagnosis,” stated Dr. Rex Dietz, neuroradiologist with Eastern Radiological Associates at St. Vincent Healthcare. “We are also planning to expand our neurological programs, and we are developing a dedicated pediatric program. The Aquilion ONE has helped position St. Vincent as one of the premier healthcare facilities in our area.”

The Aquilion ONE’s ability to image the entire organ and show real-time function helps reduce diagnosis time from hours or days to minutes for patients suffering from life-threatening conditions. It also enables physicians to treat patients faster and more accurately than before, which will ultimately help lower healthcare costs.

“In addition to providing the highest levels of diagnostic accuracy, the Aquilion ONE is also helping healthcare facilities expand service lines and treat patients with the latest medical imaging technology,” explained Doug Ryan, senior director, CT Business Unit, Toshiba. “Created for today’s healthcare environment, the Aquilion ONE has the potential to replace multiple existing tests, reduce overall exam time for patients and physicians, and decrease X-ray radiation dose, a main concern for physicians and patients.”

Introduced in November 2007, dynamic volume CT scans an entire organ in a single pass and produces 4D videos that show an organ’s structure, its movement and blood flow. In comparison, a 64-slice, 128-slice or 256-slice CT scan can only capture a portion of an organ in a single pass, requiring physicians to “stitch together” multiple scans of an organ to get a full image. The new technology helps reduce multiple exposures to radiation and exam time.

About Toshiba’s Aquilion CT Product Line Recognition

The Aquilion® CT product line has received numerous accolades including the number one ranking in CT from MD Buyline since 2002 (six consecutive years). The Aquilion CT line has also been named Best in KLAS in 2006 and 2007; Best in KLAS in 2008 for 64-detector row and above; and Frost & Sullivan’s “Healthcare Innovation Award in Cardiovascular Imaging” in 2008. (For more information about KLAS, visit www.KLASresearch.com.) Most recently, Toshiba’s service for the Aquilion line was ranked number one in 21 out of 34 ServiceTrak Imaging’s 2008 report on CT system service.

About Toshiba’s Aquilion ONE

The Aquilion® ONE, the world’s first dynamic volume CT, utilizes 320 ultra-high resolution detector rows to image an entire organ in a single gantry rotation and shows dynamic function like blood flow. Since its introduction in November 2007, the Aquilion ONE has been named Popular Science magazine’s “Best of What’s New 2008 – Personal Health Category,” rt Image’s 2008 Most Valuable Product (MVP), Frost & Sullivan’s Global CT Systems Product Differentiation Innovation Award 2007, AuntMinnie.com’s “Minnies 2008 – Best New Radiology Device” and Medical Design Excellence Award Winner in 2009.

About St. Vincent Healthcare

The Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth, Kansas founded St. Vincent Healthcare in Billings, Mont., in 1898. Motivated by its mission to provide compassionate care and service, St. Vincent has become one of Montana’s leading comprehensive healthcare providers. Modern medical technology has been integrated into St. Vincent’s commitment to provide care for the sick, to respect life, to serve the poor, and to provide compassion and charity for all who need it. St. Vincent offers progressive specialty services in Cardiology, Neurology, Oncology, Orthopedics, and Women’s Services. For more information, visit www.svh-mt.org.

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.