GE Medical Systems to Sponsor Ultrasound Strain Rate Imaging Study
Multi-center Studies Seek to Establish Normal Values and Investigate Asynchrony and Bi-ventricular Pacing
CHICAGO -- GE Medical Systems today announced at the 75th Annual American Heart Association Scientific Sessions the formation of multi-center studies to investigate Strain Rate Imaging (SRI) in echocardiography. The studies will be conducted by more than a dozen luminary echocardiography institutions and involve more than 1000 patients.
Strain Rate Imaging in ultrasound measures the rate of deformation in tissue via a method based on the Doppler technique. In echocardiography, SRI can differentiate between actively deforming and passive muscle segments to provide data on left ventricular function.
The goals of the studies are to compile data on normal values of SRI for different patient populations based on age, race, gender, weight, pathology, and other parameters. Other studies will also investigate the utility of SRI as a tool to evaluate the potential success of treatment options for asynchrony, such as bi-ventricular pacing. Presentation of preliminary results is expected at the American College of Cardiology meeting in March 2003.
“Strain Rate Imaging is one of the most promising tools that we have today,” said James D. Thomas, M.D., F.A.C.C., Moore Chair of Cardiovascular Imaging, Cleveland Clinic Foundation. “In the last three or four years, there’s been an avalanche of papers on this topic, reflecting the growing interest and the technical advances in this arena.”
Nearly 90 percent of the papers published worldwide on SRI have reported on studies conducted with Vivid™ 7 echocardiography technology from GE Medical Systems.
“The Vivid 7 system is our premium cardiac optimized system and was designed to help clinicians expand the field of echocardiography,” said Omar Ishrak, vice president and general manager of GE Medical Systems’ Global Ultrasound business. “With TruScan Architecture, our innovative software intensive platform, the Vivid 7 is a system capable of capturing cardiac function with exceptional image quality and fast exam times.”
The Vivid 7 system improves both the quantitative and qualitative assessment of cardiac disease with such exclusive features as:
TruData 3D Beamforming technology that significantly improves image quality with breakthrough performance in 2D, color and Doppler imaging
Qscan, which helps physicians extract more definitive diagnostic information from cardiovascular images by bringing quantitative assessment tools out of the research lab and into the routine clinical exam
TruAccess which provides true, raw data DICOM-networking capabilities and the ability to apply live scanning techniques to stored images
About GE Medical Systems
GE Medical Systems is a $9 billion global leader in medical imaging, interventional procedures, healthcare services, and information technology. Its offerings include networking and productivity tools, clinical information systems, patient monitoring systems, surgery and vascular imaging, conventional and digital X-ray, computed tomography, electron beam tomography, magnetic resonance, ultrasound and bone mineral densitometry, positron emission tomography, nuclear medicine, and a comprehensive portfolio of clinical and business services. For more than 100 years, health care providers worldwide have relied on GE Medical Systems for high quality medical technology and productivity solutions. For more information, visit the GE Medical Systems Web site at www.gemedical.com
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