Toshiba brings PowerVision to radiology

Toshiba America Medical Systems of Tustin, CA, will demonstratea new ultrasound scanner designed to beef up the company's positionin the radiology ultrasound segment. Toshiba has taken the PowerVisionscanner it markets to the cardiology segment and adapted it forthe radiology market, according to Suzanne Certain, director ofmarketing for ultrasound.

PowerVision uses a fully digital beamformer and brings to radiologyimaging the high frame rates used in echocardiography, Certainsaid. When Toshiba's parallel processing technique, called QuadSignal Processing, is added to the mix, the result is a scannerwith excellent image quality in both near and far fields, Certainsaid. Another feature on PowerVision is Directional Color Angio,which adds a directional component to power Doppler imaging. Thesystem will be priced in the low $200,000 range, with shipmentsplanned in spring 1997.

Another major product introduction is on tap for Toshiba'sMRI business. The company will display its R&D muscle withthe debut of Opart, a superconducting open MRI scanner that needsno cryogen refills, according to John Ariatti, vice presidentof marketing. Opart will take the place of the company's Accessscanner, which will be retired (SCAN 11/20/96).

Opart, which received 510(k) clearance just weeks before theRSNA meeting, is a 0.35-tesla scanner employing a four-post configuration,similar to Access. The scanner uses a new electrical refrigerationsystem and operates without a helium cryostat, making it smaller,lighter, and cheaper to run, according to the company.

In other modalities, Toshiba will show the second-generationversion of its Aspire CI interventional package on the Xpress/SXCT scanner, while in x-ray the company will display a dual-planeuniversal angiographic system and the Max-1000A integrated C-armpositioner and tilting table.