Siemens and Olympus Medical Systems Corporation are collaborating on developing technology for a Magnetically Guided Capsule Endoscope (MGCE) System. This innovative technology is intended to allow stomach examinations to be performed easily and comfortably by having the patient simply swallow an endoscope in the form of a capsule. The patient is to then lie down in a magnetic guidance system. It is envisioned that the physician, via a joystick, will then be able to navigate the capsule easily to the areas of interest and that the capsule will provide real-time, high-resolution images on a display in the examination room. Haruhito Morishima, President, Olympus Medical Systems Corporation, explains, “Our aim is to create endoscopes that minimize the stress on patients and that are userfriendly for physicians. We see this joint development project with Siemens as the realization of one of our visions for the future of capsule endoscopes.” Hermann Requardt, CEO of Siemens Healthcare adds, “In cooperation with our partner Olympus, we usher a new era in endoscopy. We believe that the magnetically guided capsule endoscope will enable quick examinations that are comfortable for the patient.”
It is often difficult to guide the capsule to a specific location, and examinations today are therefore limited to confined areas of the gastrointestinal tract such as the small intestine. Siemens and Olympus are jointly developing the capsule endoscopy unit, the magnet guidance system, and the image processing and guidance information systems. The capsule endoscope will be approximately 31 mm (1.22 inches) long and 11 mm (0.43 inches) in diameter. Camera systems are mounted at both ends of the capsule. Currently, the two providers have developed a prototype that will be used to determine the safety, effectiveness, and benefits of this new generation of endoscopic technology. During the examination, the patient’s stomach will be filled with water to provide a field of vision for the capsule endoscope and enable navigation. It is anticipated that the physician will control the motion of the capsule with a joystick, which enables real-time observation of the complete stomach.

Siemens Healthcare Publications received the Silver Award in the category “Best Crossmedia Solution” at the BCP Best of Corporate Publishing Congress in Hamburg, Germany. Under the topic “Healthcare Publications,” Siemens Healthcare submitted its crossmedia publications portfolio, which consists of the business-to-business magazine Medical Solutions, the expert magazines AXIOM Innovations (angiography, radiography, and fluoroscopy), SOMATOM Sessions (computed tomography), MAGNETOM Flash (magnetic resonance imaging), and Perspectives (laboratory diagnostics), and the Healthcare Newsletter. The jury was comprised of more than 100 renowned experts from the areas of journalism, design, marketing, corporate/ internal communication, print, and direct marketing. Obtaining the BCP Silver Award places Siemens Healthcare among the top corporate crossmedia publishers in Europe.
The jury of the largest corporate publishing contest in Europe honored the best publications out of more than 600 entries in 29 permanent and four special categories. The BCP Award has enjoyed an excellent reputation since the first congress in 2003, and quantity and quality of entries is increasing. The 8th BCP congress 2010, under the patronage of the German Minister of Economics and Technology, Rainer Brüderle, took place with the slogan “Smart Content – All Media: Integration in Corporate Publishing.” International experts discussed the future of print media and digital trends in the corporate publishing market before dedicating themselves to the award ceremony. Already in 2008, Siemens Healthcare received two Silver Awards for its customer magazine Medical Solutions. This year, in the category “Best Crossmedia Solution,” Siemens Healthcare Publications succeeded as the only crossmedia solution in the healthcare field nominated. We hope you are just as satisfied with our media as the jury. Don’t hesitate to tell us your opinion at
editor.medicalsolutions.healthcare@siemens.com.

If you would like to subscribe to any of our periodicals, please visit
www.siemens.com/healthcare-magazine or
www.siemens.com/healthcare-eNews.

The clinical team at the University Hospital of Jena, Germany, has put syngo^® BreVis to the test. The result: improved reading of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) breast exams, both in the clinical and in the research setting. Siemens’ dedicated MRI breast care workplace includes syngo BreVis for streamlined reading and reporting and syngo BreVis Biopsy for a fast and accurate MRI breast biopsy workflow with automatic calculation of target coordinates.
In Jena, both tools are used in clinical routine as well as research settings. syngo BreVis is improving workflow in both. Its advantages are robust performance, simple operation, and the possibility for individual adjustments. The latter allows for compensation of unexpected clinical and technical variations that are encountered in daily clinical routine.
Routine clinical images in Jena are acquired using a 1.5 Tesla MAGNETOM^® Avanto MRI system. The imaging protocols enable examination of four patients per hour and thus 40 to 50 patients per day and per scanner. In the research scenario (MAGNETOM Avanto and 3 Tesla MAGNETOM Trio), a variety of dynamic protocols, including high temporal and/or spatial resolution dynamic sequences in 2D or 3D techniques, in part with fat saturation, are performed. As a result, fewer patients are examined, but much more data is acquired per patient. syngo BreVis handles these amounts of data and even automatically detects double dynamic imaging (split dynamics) protocols. The additional display segments easily allow the review of supplemental (e.g. diffusion weighted imaging) data together with dynamic as well as morphologic analysis.

The Siemens Utilization Management Report comes with new features to advance customized system evaluation of computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) systems in order to improve efficiency and workflows. Utilization Management evaluates current system usage and reveals hidden potential, based on the continuous evaluation of current usage data through a secure remote connection between the customer’s system and the utilization database.
Among the enhanced offerings are a multiple-month report that allows customers to select a reporting period of several months instead of the previously used one-month reporting period. The information can now not only be retrieved on a daily but also on a monthly basis. To further customize benchmark results, the Advanced Package expands its benchmark options by including the possibility to select own core working hours as the baseline for comparison. Furthermore, the report features a new design to boost clarity and to communicate results in a more customer-friendly and self-explanatory format. The gained transparency results in an improved system utilization and consequent cost savings, as well as higher patient throughput, improved workflow, and reduced personnel overtime.

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¹ Utilization Management Consulting is not available for all countries and markets. Please contact your local Siemens sales representative for availability and technical requirements.

The 6.0 release of the ACUSON X300™ ultrasound system, premium edition (PE), offers advanced imaging performance across a wide range of applications including general imaging, cardiology, OB/GYN, urology, and many more. New imaging enhancements improve visualization, and contrast agent imaging expands clinical utility to increase efficiency and diagnostic confidence.
The system provides a comprehensive urology solution. The new ergonomically designed BP9-4 transducer with live dual biplane imaging allows for simultaneous viewing of both the longitudinal and transverse imaging planes for enhanced efficiency and diagnostic confidence. Further enhancing the offering is the live biplane biopsy functionality to clearly identify needle placement for faster, more confident biopsy, while dual needle paths improve patient comfort.
All-digital signal processing and multi-beam formation technology on the ACUSON X300 PE system provide excellent image quality in all modes. Two new high-frequency linear transducers are supported by the PLUS Option: the VF13-5 and the VF13-5SP. Improvements have been made to the cardiac application, including improved M-Mode resolution and sensitivity and connectivity enhancements. New applications for imaging the pediatric abdomen and neonatal head have been added. The system features several Siemens-exclusive applications such as syngo^® Auto OB measurements for automated measurements of fetal biometry and comprehensive CARTO system communication capabilities to support intracardiac catheterizations.