In today's demanding health care environment, many community hospitals require imaging equipment that provides a variety of advanced diagnostic exams with features that improve patient cooperation. To offer a variety of high-quality, comfortable MR exams to its patients, Central Washington Hospital in Wenatchee, Wash., selected Toshiba America Medical Systems' Vantage TitanTM MR system.
“We use the versatile system for multiple exam types, allowing us to image a range of patient conditions to improve patient care in the community.”
In addition to routine exams like orthopedic, cardiac, general radiology and abdominal imaging, Central Washington has begun performing breast MR exams, as well as new sequences such as liver diffusion, since acquiring the Titan in early 2009. With all exams, patient compliance has improved. The Titan's patient-friendly features that help reduce claustrophobia, such as the large, open bore, feet first imaging and noise reduction technology, have played a role in the improved compliance and also led to fewer patient cancellations.
"The Titan provides a more comfortable exam experience for patients while allowing us to conduct advanced MR imaging," said Dr. Tammam Nehme, radiologist specializing in cross-sectional imaging, Central Washington Hospital. "We use the versatile system for multiple exam types, allowing us to image a range of patient conditions to improve patient care in the community."
Specifically designed to improve patient cooperation through more comfortable exams, the Titan MR has helped improve exam efficiency and accuracy at Central Washington Hospital while mitigating issues around imaging claustrophobic, bariatric and patients with renal compromise. The Titan's large 71-cm aperture and open bore offers the industry's largest clinical field-of-view (55×55×50 cm). The system also includes Toshiba's patented PianissimoTM technology, which reduces acoustic noise by as much as 90 percent, helping to increase the comfort level of patients during exams. The Titan also includes Atlas Technology to eliminate the need to reposition patients during exams by integrating the coils into the table. This feature reduces exam time and is more comfortable for the patient. It also enables feet-first imaging for a majority of exams, allowing patients to keep their head outside the bore.