New Toshiba products target efficiency

New products to be displayedby Toshiba America Medical Systems at next week's meeting focuson improving efficiency and maximizing cost-effectiveness forcustomers, according to Leslie Ferrini, corporate marketing manager.In particular, the Tustin, CA, vendor will showcase hardware andsoftware upgrades that increase the speed and expand the applicationsof its systems.

Toshiba will display several new options that boost the technicalcapabilities of its Xpress/SX premium spiral scanner. Toshibawill display a 6-million-heat-unit (MHU) x-ray tube as a work-in-progressupgrade for Xpress/SX, which normally ships with a 3.5-MHU tube.The more powerful tubes last longer and allow for increased throughput,according to Ferrini.

Toshiba will also feature an ultrafast reconstruction packagefor Xpress/SX. Scanners with the software package can reconstructCT images at the rate of six images per second, Ferrini said.The enhanced speed should be useful for applications such as guidingneedle biopsies and stent placements.

In MRI, the vendor will display QuadScan, a work-in-progresssoftware package for the 0.5-tesla Flexart scanner. QuadScan allowsusers to excite four slices simultaneously for either higher signal-to-noiseratio or quicker scan times, Ferrini said.

Toshiba's nuclear medicine business will debut a new gammacamera, GCA-7100A. The product is a rectangular single-head systemthat can be upgraded to Toshiba's dual-head offering, GCA-7200A.

In ultrasound, Toshiba will roll out Eccocee, a mid-range generalradiology ultrasound scanner designed for portability. Eccoceewill be shown as a work-in-progress and is awaiting 510(k) clearance.Toshiba will also tout its PowerPace upgrade, which includes apower Doppler mode, for the SSA-270A and SSH-140A ultrasound systems.