Siemens Medical Solutions has introduced at ECR a lightweight, mobile C-arm designed as an adjunct for cardiac and abdominal interventions. The Arcadis Avantic features a 20-kW generator with a continuous digital 1K by 1K image chain and a 13-inch image intensifier. The imaging chain can deliver 30 frames per second.

"It might even be used as a backup for a big angio system. Even if you don't have the same image quality, it would be there for an urgent case," said Seyfi Ceyhan, Siemens product manager for surgery.

Although it might be applied outside the OR, the system is optimized for applications in cardiovascular surgery and electrophysiology, as well as radiological interventions in gastroenterology.

Avantic is the third addition to Siemens' Arcadis family of lightweight, compact, and highly mobile C-arms. Arcadis Orbic and its 3D configuration, introduced at the 2004 RSNA, are designed for intra-operative use in orthopedics and trauma surgery. Arcadis Varic, unveiled at ECR 2004, is designed for general surgical support. All three models are equipped with Siemens syngo capability, which supports viewing of multimodality images.

"With this, if you have a patient and in OR, you can get all the views from CT and MR," Ceyhan said.

The Arcadis family is designed for markets worldwide. Avantic is scheduled to enter production in August. The company has not yet received regulatory clearances for Europe and the U.S.