Toshiba develops 3-D ultrasound probe

Add Toshiba to the list of companies developing 3-D ultrasoundtechnology. The company's Toshiba Medical Systems Europe subsidiaryin Zoetermeer, the Netherlands, has announced that it has developeda new transducer for 3-D imaging in obstetric applications.

Toshiba claims that the probe, called volume imaging transducer(VIT), is capable of real-time 3-D imaging, in which 3-D imagesare viewed during actual scanning. Most other 3-D ultrasound technologiesrequire a delay for image processing after cross-sectional slicesare acquired.

The VIT probe is a convex-array transducer that does not requireadditional devices or external computers. It can be connectedto a number of Toshiba scanners, including SSA-270A Super HG,SSH-140A Super HG, Eccocee CX, SSA-250A, and Tosbee.

In other Toshiba ultrasound news, the company's Toshiba AmericaMedical Systems subsidiary in Tustin, CA, said that it has setup a network of regional sales agents to sell its Capasee compactob/gyn scanner to private practice physicians. Toshiba believessuch a network is the most effective way to target office-basedphysicians, according to Dean Winter, director of ultrasound businessunit sales.