New system enables ultrasound fusion imaging for routine clinical use

Chicago - Siemens Healthcare (Booth #822, East Building/Lakeside Center at McCormick Place, Hall D) launched the ACUSON S3000¹, its latest ultra-premium ultrasound platform, at the 97th Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA), November 27 to December 2 in Chicago. The new system includes advanced automated ultrasound fusion imaging², as well as multi-modality review capabilities² to provide additional clinical and spatial information in the analysis of complex pathology and/or when performing interventional procedures such as biopsies. In combination with its comprehensive suite of elastography applications, Siemens highlighted its new strain imaging application Virtual Touch tissue IQ² imaging, reinforcing the company's role as a leader in strain elastography imaging. Also at RSNA 2011, Siemens introduced the latest addition to its family of high-density (HD) transducers: the 8C3 HD transducer¹ specially designed for obstetrics and pediatric applications.

The new ultra-premium ACUSON S3000 ultrasound system advances Siemens' pioneering ultrasound technologies with its proprietary eSie Fusion² imaging, which enables the automatic fusion of 3-D computed tomography (CT) volumes with real-time ultrasound via a single click. Current fusion techniques require time-consuming manual registration of CT or magnetic resonance (MR) images. They also require the patient to lie motionless throughout the entire exam to avoid elaborate manual realignments. The automatic, one-click advanced registration capabilities of the ACUSON S3000 system eliminate these limitations, reducing CT image registration to mere seconds, and profoundly simplifying manual registration techniques to enhance workflow during MR volume registration.

"Using the new eSie Fusion² imaging technology allows us to significantly speed up our workflow," said assistant professor Dr. Dirk-André Clevert, section chief of the Interdisciplinary Ultrasound Center at Munich University Hospital Grosshadern, Germany, and one of the first physicians to test eSie Fusion. "Previously, the success of interventions was generally monitored by follow-up CT examinations. However, due to the new ultrasound fusion solution, it should be possible to reduce the number of follow-ups done with CT. The use of fusion provides us with improved clinical information - without additional radiation. This is a great advantage for both the patients and the healthcare provider." Fusion imaging can play an important role not only in diagnosis and follow-up but also in image-guided interventions.

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