Siemens Launches Dedicated Ultrasound And Women's Health Team - New Offering To Provide A One-stop Approach To Breast Imaging Solutions

Main Category: Breast Cancer
Also Included In: MRI / PET / Ultrasound;  Radiology / Nuclear Medicine
Article Date: 11 Apr 2008 - 2:00 PDT

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Siemens has announced the creation of an Ultrasound and Women's Health division to promote and support its products and services within the UK healthcare marketplace.

Mammography and ultrasound are playing an increasingly important role in the detection and diagnosis of breast disease. Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women in the UK*, however, thanks to increased awareness and extending screening services, early detection and diagnosis has boosted survival rates.

The creation of the new dedicated team follows comprehensive customer research and is in response to the evolving breast care environment. "The introduction of new applications and techniques such as elastography, silicon transducers and tomosynthesis has called for detailed and specialist advice in the marketplace," said Andrew Pattison, Director of Diagnostic Ultrasound & Women's Health at Siemens.

"Furthermore, with the Government's commitment to extending screening services for women and greater awareness of symptoms by patients, this sector of the health service is facing increasing pressure. Our team of professionals will deliver a high level of consultancy, working with clinical teams at hospitals to explain how the latest technologies can deliver tangible benefits to improve patient outcomes."

To meet the changing needs of the marketplace, Siemens has recently launched new products that will fall into the Women's Health team remit. The range of ACUSON ultrasound solutions has been bolstered with the launch of the S2000, a clinically advanced acoustic system and Siemens' first new generation Full-Field Digital Mammography system, the MAMMOMAT Inspiration, has also been introduced.

The MAMMOMAT Inspiration has been developed with the input of healthcare professionals to meet the requirements of staff and patients. The result is an advanced mammography unit that improves workflow and adapts to meet the needs of the patient. A simple upgrade to the system ensures a seamless transition to the functionality of stereotactic biopsy and to 3D imaging using tomosynthesis. Screening, diagnosis and tomosynthesis will therefore be based on a single digital platform for the first time.

The MAMMOMAT Inspiration uses new breast compression technologies for enhanced patient comfort as well as MoodLight feature to promote relaxation during examination. Patient throughput and image resolution of the whole breast, for advanced and detailed diagnosis, is improved via the isocentric rotation of the X-ray tube. The system also provides advantages in high throughput screening environments that demand speed as it offers 27 seconds between exposure times and 18 seconds between exposure and display of high resolution digital images. This means that 15 patients can be examined per hour.

The latest system in the ultrasound range is the ACUSON S2000. This next generation solution is ready for silicon transducer ultrasound technology, the first development in probe technology in over 40 years. The S2000 debuts innovative Acoustic Radiation Forced Impulse (ARFI) to expand strain imaging capabilities. It also offers many new applications for Radiology however improved 4D imaging and automated fetal measurements also makes the S2000 ideal for obstetrics and gynaecological procedures.

Further information on the Siemens Ultrasound and Women's Health team and product portfolio is available at http://www.siemens.co.uk/medical.

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* Source: BBC.co.uk, Women's Health pages.

Siemens Healthcare is one of the world's largest suppliers to the healthcare industry. The company is a renowned medical solutions provider with core competence and innovative strength in diagnostic and therapeutic technologies as well as in knowledge engineering, including information technology and system integration. With its laboratory diagnostics acquisitions, Siemens Healthcare is the first fully integrated diagnostics company, bringing together imaging and lab diagnostics, therapy and healthcare information technology solutions, supplemented by consulting and support services. Siemens Healthcare delivers solutions across the entire continuum of care - from prevention and early detection, to diagnosis, therapy and care. The company employs more than 49,000 people worldwide and operates in 130 countries. In the fiscal year 2007 (Sept. 30), Siemens Healthcare reported sales of €9.85 billion, orders of €10.27 billion and group profit of €1.32 billion.

Siemens Healthcare