Toshiba releases enhanced ultrasound scanner

Toshiba's high-performance Aplio scanner just got an upgrade. The Aplio xV debuting at the RSNA meeting features standard and optional software designed for radiology and cardiology.

Several features, announced several months ago as part of the company's Version 5.5 software release, have been repackaged under the new label. These include automated one-touch Quick Scan image optimization and Differential Harmonic Imaging. Standard bearers on the Aplio platform include expanded field-of-view trapezoid imaging and real-time ApliPure spatial and frequency compounding.

The company is showcasing Differential Harmonic Imaging, which creates an additional frequency to improve the resolution and clarity of visualization of deep structures, according to Gordon Parhar, director of ultrasound imaging for Toshiba American Medical Systems. DHI was developed in Toshiba's laboratory to overcome the challenges of imaging heavier people with a single ultrasound scan.

"If radiologists are not sure of what they are seeing on an ultrasound, they have to send patients off to secondary or other tests, such as a CT or MRI. With Differential Harmonic Imaging, radiologists can get extra confidence in reading ultrasound scans, and they don't have to do those tests," Parhar said.