Collaboration for Cardiac CT Research

Toshiba America Medical Systems, Inc. (Tustin, CA, USA; www.medical.toshiba.com) recently announced a multi-year, multi-system agreement with Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH; Boston, MA, USA; www.brighamandwomens.org)--one of the top five cardiac hospitals in the United States and a leader in cutting-edge research activities.

As part of the agreement, BWH has installed Toshiba's Aquilion 64 CFX computed tomography (CT) system--the cardiac CT system currently under evaluation in the CorE64 clinical trial. The Aquilion CFX will play an important role in BWH's ongoing evaluation and validation of cardiac CT as a tool for diagnosing early stage heart disease without the use of interventional procedures that can cause greater risk for the patient.

"BHW is internationally known for its treatment of complex cardiac disorders, and our new Aquilion CFX will greatly improve our diagnostic and research capabilities moving forward,” said Dr. Frank J. Rybicki, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Applied Imaging Science Laboratory and co-director of the cardiovascular imaging section at BWH radiology. "The system's ability to deliver precise, 0.5 mm slices and its excellent low-contrast resolution will dramatically impact the advanced cardiovascular work we do-particularly in the areas of coronary remodeling, perfusion, and functional imaging.”

"The system will improve more than just our contributions to the cardiovascular sector,” said Steven Seltzer, chairman of the radiology department at BWH. "With Toshiba's technology, we now will be able to image other organs more precisely and provide better diagnoses for all of our patients.”

According to Doug Ryan, senior director of the CT Business Unit for Toshiba, "BWH's reputation as a leader in biomedical research makes this institution an ideal partner for validating the benefits of cardiac CT and expanding our research and development in other key clinical CT studies. The commitment by BWH to our current Aquilion 64 slice CT technology and their intention to expand this further to more advanced technologies is testimony to the clinical capabilities of the Aquilion CFX CT series.”


Related Links:
Toshiba America Medical Systems
Brigham and Women's Hospital