BY BRENDA TILKE

On the exhibit floor of the RSNA meeting, Toshiba America Medical Systems (TAMS) showcased its new 1.5-tesla MR scanner, the Excelart, which company officials claim is the quietest MR system in the world.

The Excelart's short-bore design has a 655-mm opening, which the company also claims is the widest in the industry. It uses Toshiba's Pianissimo sound reduction technology that can reduce examination noise by up to 90%. Pianissimo technology is still investigational, however.

"Toshiba conducted extensive research to determine what elements of an MR procedure were most distressing to patients," said Scott Eaton, director of the MRI business unit at TAMS. "In addition to feelings of claustrophobia, the issue of gradient noise was identified. Excelart was built from the ground up to appeal to patient demands for comfortable, quiet exams. It also meets clinical demands for advanced applications as well as ultrafast scans and better access to the patient."

The Pianissimo technology employs a solid foundation for gradient support and special insulators to reduce acoustic noise from the vibration of the gradient coils.

"Patients hear sounds at the volume of gentle drumming instead of the jackhammer noise level of older technologies," Eaton said.

The system also features the company's work-in-progress SuperFASE very short echo half-Fourier RF refocused sequence for simultaneous noncontrast MR angiography of vessels in the abdomen and chest.