Clinical Advancements in Angiographic Imaging

“At Springhill, our foremost commitment is to our patients and our community,” says Celia Wallace, chairwoman of the board of Springhill Medical Center. “We strive for perfection, and our mission will always be to lead the market with technological advances that can improve patient care.” Springhill is able to deliver on its mission by supporting physicians with the latest diagnostic imaging equipment they need to provide best care to their patients. This commitment is embodied in the hospital’s partnership with Toshiba Medical Systems and the adoption of a breakthrough non-contrast MRA technology designed to improve patient safety. “It was clear to us that Toshiba shares our vision to remain at the forefront of providing the best, most innovative patient care. The company’s new Vantage Atlas MRI system enables our radiology staff to deliver a safe alternative to contrast-enhanced MR angiography that eliminates potential negative side effects on patients,” explains Ms. Wallace. MRA Patient Safety Concerns In cases where traditional X-ray, ultrasound or CT imaging are unable to provide sufﬁcient diagnostic With non-contrast MRA, we can image more patients without compromising patient safety. information, MRA has emerged as an invaluable tool for imaging blood vessels in the body. To facilitate this bloodvessel visualization, conventional MRA techniques use a gadolinium-based contrast agent, which is administered intravenously to the patient. This contrast agent aids the detection of peripheral vascular diseases such as an aneurysm in the blood vessels that lead to the brain or a stenosis of blood vessels that lead to the lungs, kidneys or extremities. Based on a growing body of evidence that links gadolinium with a rare, but potentially fatal, disease called Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis/ Nephrogenic Fibrosing Dermopathy (NSF/NFD), the U.S. FDA recently issued public health advisories against the use of gadolinium-based contrast agents in MRA. “The latest FDA warnings for the use of gadolinium have changed the way we use contrast for MRA,” says Dr. Donald Wagnon, Jr., a Springhill radiologist. “Patients with renal insufﬁciency or diabetes could be especially at risk. Since we don’t want to risk exposing them to gadolinium, we recommend other options to a conventional MRA. At this stage, the underlying causes of NSF/NFD are not entirely understood, which prohibits a universally accepted or consistently successful treatment or cure.” Oc tober 2 0 0 7 A public ation produced by Toshiba Medic al Sys t ems 11

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Clinical Advancements in Angiographic Imaging

Contents PhaseXact™: Automatic Phase Cardiac Reconstruction Giant Internal Carotid Aneurysm Non-Contrast SSFP Time-SLIP Imaging: Renal Artery Stenosis Springhill Medical Center: A Partnership to Improve Patient Safety Anterior Cerebral Artery Aneurysm Right Coronary Artery (RCA) lesion with SUREPlaque analysis Neurovascular CTA: When every second counts

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