Search Results for: TMS

Toshiba AIDR 3D Adaptive Iterative Dose Reduction for CT FDA Cleared

by Wouter Stomp on Apr 25, 2012

Toshiba has received FDA clearance for its Adaptive Iterative Dose Reduction 3D (AIDR 3D) technology. This is Toshiba’s third generation iterative dose reconstruction software that uses an algorithm designed to work in both the raw data and image data space, reducing noise while attempting to maintain image quality.

AIDR promises to reduce image noise and improve spatial resolution while lowering radiation exposure. AIDR 3D processing uses a scanner model and a statistical noise model considering both photon and electronic noise to eliminate noise. When AIDR is enabled in the scan protocol, the calculated exposure is automatically reduced by up to 75% when compared to a scan performed with traditional filtered back projection (FBP) reconstruction.

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Esaote’s Latest Ultrasound Devices Coming to Market

by Gene Ostrovsky on Dec 6, 2011

Esaote is releasing two new ultrasound systems for general clinical use.

The MyLab Seven is a traditional wheeled device in a small footprint with new productivity features and the MyLab Alpha is a miniaturized laptop-like ultrasound that brings the same high quality imaging of the company’s high end systems into a small package.

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Brainsway’s Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation to Go on Trial for Bipolar Disorder

by Gene Ostrovsky on Nov 1, 2011

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) has been a promising new technology that’s been undergoing trials for such disparate conditions as depression, smoking cessation, ADD, Alzheimer’s, cocaine addiction, and multiple sclerosis. Now the FDA has issued approval to Brainsway, a leader in TMS based in Israel, to evaluate the device as a therapy option for people with bipolar disorder.

The Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) that was granted will lead to a study involving nine medical centers and 120 patients.

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Quantum Sensors, Magnetic Nanoparticles Attractive Possibilities for Breast Cancer Diagnostics

by Shiv Gaglani on Oct 31, 2011

As we near the end of the 2011 Breast Cancer Awareness Month, it is fitting to continue our coverage of new developments related to breast cancer diagnostics and treatments. We recently reported on GE Healthcare‘s newly FDA-approved SenoBright system that promises to greatly improve imaging of breast tissue over traditional mammograms. Though mammographies have tremendously enhanced patient care – in some cases detecting pre-cancerous lesions three years prior to any problems arising – they are not perfect.  Mammograms currently are incapable of distinguishing between benign and malignant lesions and are estimated to miss detecting 10-25 percent of breast cancers.

In the latest issue of Breast Cancer Research, a collaborative team of oncologists and nanotechnology researchers report using targeted magnetic nanoparticles and ultra-sensitive magnetic field sensors to accurately detect relatively small numbers of breast cancer cells. By conjugating iron-oxide nanoparticles (diameter < 30 nm) with antibodies for the aggressive breast cancer cell surface receptor, Her2, the team was able to attach hundreds of magnetic nanoparticles to each individual cancer cell. Then, using superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) sensors, they could differentially distinguish cancerous cells from normal tissue. The authors refer to this as magnetic relaxometry, which they describe as:

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Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Shows Initial Promise in Alzheimer’s Trial

by Shiv Gaglani on Oct 6, 2011

If you remember from your high school or college physics classes, there is a strong relationship between electricity and magnetism. Basic principles of electromagnetism have revolutionized the way we live; for example, knowledge that a wire carrying a current generates a magnetic field led to the development of motors and the discovery that moving a magnet through a loop of wire could produce electricity led to the creation of generators.

Deep transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a medical application of electromagnetic technology. It essentially relies on the fact that neurons communicate via chemical-electric signals; hence, like other electrical signals, neuronal communication should be able to be influenced by external magnetic fields, or pulses.

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EDAP’s Next Generation Lithotripsy System Sonolith i-move Gets U.S. Green Light

by Gene Ostrovsky on Aug 3, 2011

EDAP TMS of Lyon, France received FDA 510(k) clearance for its Sonolith i-move mobile lithotripter. The modular device uses an infrared stereo-vision system in combination with ultrasound to help  localize and attack kidney stones.

The i-move received European approval last year.

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Robot for Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)

by Jan Sinnige on Jul 22, 2011

Duke University’s Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences employs a coil positioning robot for Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) at their Brain Stimulation Center.

The SmartMove is a robotic TMS coil positioning system, developed by Advanced Neuro Technology (ANT) that closely follows slight head movements of the patient to precisely target the same spot in the brain..

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Ins and Outs

by Gene Ostrovsky on Aug 25, 2010

Digital Devices Deprive Brain of Needed Downtime … [NYT]
Artificial Ape Man: How Technology Created Humans … [Gizmodo]

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Analysis of Atherosclerotic Plaque Composition with Multicolor CT

by Wouter Stomp on Aug 17, 2010

The life of radiologists is about to get a lot more colorful. Yesterday we reported on color MRI segmentation of the brain, today we have a report on color CT for atherosclerotic plaque analysis. Researchers from Mount Sinai School of Medicine have used spectral CT in combination with a gold high-density lipoprotein nanoparticle contrast agent for characterization of macrophage burden, calcification, and stenosis of atherosclerotic plaques. They used an experimental CT scanner from Philips that divides the X-ray spectrum from a single X-ray tube voltage into six energy bins. This way they could accurately distinguish the gold-based contrast agent from an iodinated contrast agent, tissue and calcium-rich matter in mice and were even able to calculate the concentrations. The gold particles were absorbed by macrophages that cause inflammation in the arterial wall at the places of atherosclerotic plaques. Using this method it should be possible to simultaneously acquire information on stenosis, calcification and inflammation. Advantages of this method compared to other methods such as MRI and PET include the lack of a need for precontrast scans, increased resolution and faster imaging. The data are published in the September issue of Radiology.
Press release: Mount Sinai pioneers new cardiac imaging device…

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