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October 25, 2010

PRESBYTERIAN INTERCOMMUNITY HOSPITAL PROVIDES ADVANCED ONCOLOGY IMAGING WITH 4D CAPABILITIES

Toshiba’s Aquilion Large Bore Offers Unique Ability to Capture Movement and Makes Treatment Planning More Accurate

TUSTIN, Calif., Oct. 25, 2010 – For oncology radiation therapy, the ability to capture movement during treatment planning helps healthcare providers administer radiation therapy with better accuracy. For example, when planning treatment for lung cancer therapy, it is critical to take movement of the lungs into consideration when determining where to target the radiation. The 4D technology available on Toshiba’s Aquilion^® Large Bore is helping Presbyterian Intercommunity Hospital in Whittier, Calif., treat oncology patients faster and more accurately.

As a center of excellence for radiation oncology services, Presbyterian Intercommunity Hospital handles more than 500 oncology patients annually. With their new 4D CT technology, physicians can acquire oncology images using a multi-phase acquisition, which enables them to capture respiratory motion during an exam. The Aquilion Large Bore’s 4D imaging makes it possible to determine a more exact location for the target area, allowing healthcare providers at Presbyterian Intercommunity Hospital to ensure more accurate, safer treatment by tailoring the treatment to spare more of the surrounding healthy tissue. Also, because this system utilizes a retrospectively gated helical acquisition technique, images are captured with a shorter acquisition time and without the sampling error or segment misregistration artifacts of other approaches. This allows the physician to more confidently and reliably target a moving lung lesion.

In addition to 4D imaging capabilities, the Aquilion Large Bore is helping the hospital provide more comfortable care to patients. With the industry’s largest bore opening of 90 cm, the Aquilion Large Bore makes it possible to provide oncology patients unrestricted positioning. In addition, the system’s 70 cm true acquired field of view and 85 cm extrapolated field of view provides dramatically more anatomical coverage than other large bore CT systems, thereby simplifying patient setup and ensuring treatment planning images fully capture patient anatomy. The Aquilion Large Bore virtually eliminates the problem of truncated anatomy limiting treatment trajectories for complex IMRT or VMAT treatments.

“The Aquilion Large Bore allows us to view the target treatment area in order to provide the most accurate treatment possible while still ensuring patient comfort,” said Dr. William Kurohara, medical director, Ruby L. Golleher Radiation Oncology Center, Presbyterian Intercommunity Hospital. “The Aquilion Large Bore’s capabilities are helping our hospital to provide the best possible care for patients.”

The Aquilion Large Bore’s 4D imaging capabilities have also allowed the facility to begin using innovative treatments, including Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy (SBRT) which delivers high doses of radiation for oncology treatments.

“The Aquilion Large Bore is the ideal solution for radiation oncology because it mirrors radiation therapy positioning without compromising image quality and patient access,” said Joseph Cooper, director, CT Business Unit, Toshiba. “No longer will therapy plans be restricted by the physical dimensions of the CT system. The Aquilion Large Bore’s larger gantry opening allows patients to comfortably and easily place their arms overhead, allowing for unparalleled image acquisition during the CT exam.”

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 (eight consecutive years). The Aquilion 64 line has also been named Best in KLAS in 2006 and 2007 in CT; Best in KLAS in 2008, 2009 and 2010 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 was ranked number one in 26 out of 40 attributes in the IMV, Ltd. ServiceTrak^™ Imaging 2010 report on CT system service.

About Presbyterian Intercommunity Hospital

Presbyterian Intercommunity Hospital is a 400-plus bed acute care, non-profit hospital which was founded in 1959 with the community’s trust and support — values retained today by maintaining the highest standards in medical services, in turn making us the area’s acknowledged leading healthcare center. Through commitment to outstanding patient care, respect and compassion for all, responsiveness, integrity, collaboration, innovation, and stewardship, the PIH team is devoted to serving the needs of its community. PIH’s healthcare team is comprised of a stellar clinical staff of almost 600 board-certified physicians representing a broad range of medical specialties, highly qualified nurses, and other exemplary staff. Additionally, PIH has an A+ bond rating from Standard & Poors. Those who are interested in supporting PIH via a donation, may visit www.pih.net and click the “donate online” button to make a gift to the PIH Foundation.

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 worldwide leader in technology, electronic and electrical products, digital consumer products, electronic devices and components, power systems, industrial and social infrastructure systems and home appliances. Toshiba was founded in 1875 and today operates a global network of more than 742 companies with more than 203,000 employees worldwide and annual sales surpassing $67 billion. For more information, visit Toshiba’s website at www.medical.toshiba.com.