New Ultrasound Technology Useful for Imaging Of Overweight, Obese Patients

ROCHESTER, N.Y., Nov. 5 — Overweight patients are more difficult to image using ultrasound because greater amounts of tissue weaken sound waves as they pass into the body, which hinders the ability to achieve high-resolution images.

Carestream’s Touch Prime and Touch Prime XE Ultrasound Systems can provide deep penetration of the abdomen and other areas, which is especially important for large or obese patients. These newly designed systems also offer more uniform resolution over the entire depth of the imaged area.

“Our ultrasound platform contains features designed to address many challenges in sonography and imaging of large patients is just one example,” said Andrew J. Hartmann, Carestream’s Vice President and General Manager, Global Ultrasound and Computed Tomography (CT) Solutions. “Our new architecture also enhances visualization of moving anatomical structures while reducing noise and artifacts to help clinicians make diagnostic and treatment decisions.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 69 percent of U.S. adults age 20 years and older are overweight or obese, and 20.5 percent of U.S. adolescents age 12 to 19 years are obese.

The Touch Prime platform employs Carestream’s advanced SynTek Architecture, which is a combination of breakthrough technologies that simultaneously provide enhanced spatial detail with increased frame rates for improved visualization of moving structures while optimized image formation can reduce noise and artifacts. Imaging and Doppler improvements allow for more consistent visualization of subtle tissue contrast differences and can improve the ability to see small structures.

Carestream’s architecture represents a significant improvement over the serial line-by-line acquisition of conventional ultrasound systems. By combining information independently obtained from multiple transmissions, the new architecture synthesizes a transmit beam that is narrow not only at a single point or region in the image but over the entire spatial area, which can lead to higher image quality.

The Touch Prime and Touch Prime XE units offer a sealed, all-touch control panel that combines the speed and flexibility of a soft user interface with the tactile feedback of traditional keys. Etched marking for primary controls equips the user to easily locate key functions without looking away from the image display monitor.

These systems are intended for general diagnostic imaging use in radiology, OB/GYN, musculoskeletal and vascular applications and will be featured at the upcoming Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) conference. Both Touch Prime ultrasound systems are available for order in the United States and a Health Canada license is pending.