Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation (President: Toshio Takiguchi; Headquarters: Otawara, Tochigi, Japan) has launched global sales of the Toshiba 1.5-tesla MRI system Vantage Elan™ / eS Edition (eS: exquisite Solution). To further enhance the clinical performance of the system, this new edition incorporates many new features such as receiving system expandability and new advanced RF coils. Furthermore, system software is upgraded, providing a wider range of advanced clinical applications. This new system provides exquisite solutions, fulfilling the both users and patient demands for the highest level of imaging standards. This new system will be displayed at the RSNA (Radiological Society of North America) which is held annually in the city of Chicago.

Development background
Vantage Elan is a new concept MRI system that enables maximizing performance while minimizing space. The system provides excellent image quality while its design has been engineered to be installed within a minimal space of 16 square meters^*1 for a scan room, enhancing business opportunities. Furthermore, eco-friendly design of the system contributes to environmental conservation. As this new concept has been well accepted globally, a large number of the systems have been installed since the initial introduction. To further enhance the system’s capabilities while maintaining a compact and simple design, Toshiba releases a new edition of this system: Vantage Elan / eS Edition.

Features of the new product

1. Advanced imaging with increased flexibility
In Vantage Elan / eS Edition, new advanced clinical applications become available to further enhance the image quality. The newly implemented diffusion-weighted imaging application Computed DWI (cDWI) generates a high b value image through calculation using the acquired images, improving diagnostic capabilities without extending the scan time. Double Inversion Recovery (DIR) improves the contrast between gray matter and white matter by setting two different TI values while M-Echo sequence allows combining the multiple echoes significantly enhancing image quality. View Angle Tilting (VAT) also becomes available to reduce metal artifact. Furthermore, the system has implemented a flexible sequence environment for all Fast Spin Echo sequences to further expand the system capabilities. Flexible parameter setting enables comfortable examinations while maintaining high image quality.

2. A wide range of advanced options and coils to fully satisfy customers’ requirements
While maintaining its compact and simple system design, Vantage Elan / eS Edition provides a wider range of options, allowing the system to be finely optimized for each customer’s requirements. By combining newly available Receiving Circuit Extension, higher flexibility for SPEEDER (Toshiba’s advanced parallel imaging technology) can be acquired, which enhances patient throughput. This option also provides a capability to simultaneously combine wider range of RF coils such as scanning with spine coil and 16ch Flex SPEEDER (Medium and Large).
For this new edition, new advanced RF coils become available, which further enhancing the system’s performance. The compact and comfortable Breast SPEEDER CX is now available. This coil is lightweight and easy to carry, enhancing daily workflow. It is designed for the patient’s weight to be evenly distributed over a wide surface area, allowing the patient to be examined while eliminating any discomfort.
In addition, Shoulder/Knee SPEEDER package also becomes available. This package allows easy, quick and stable coil setting for orthopedic imaging while providing high image quality. An Easy-to-operate locking mechanism is applied to the knee coil, allowing fine patient positioning while enhancing daily throughput.

3. Safe and reliable examinations with enhanced security
The security of medical equipment is now an extremely important issue. Conventional security software programs require regular updating of data in order to provide protection against unknown viruses. Vantage Elan / eS Edition employs Windows® 7 and whitelist-based security software that permits only software programs registered in the whitelist to be executed. Thus the system is protected from unknown viruses and other malicious software, system downtime is reduced, contribution to the spread of infections via networks is averted, and leakage of patient information is prevented^*2. Together with Vantage Titan, which is the world’s first 1.5T MRI system to comply with the network security guidelines by the United States Department of Defense, Vantage Elan / eS Edition has received Authorization To Operate (ATO) from the United States Air Force^*3. Moreover, alert functions for system abnormalities have been strengthened, and a quick reset function for the hardware has been added. These functions, together with the conventional remote maintenance function and various other features, help minimize the system down time.

Breast SPEEDER CX

Shoulder/Knee SPEEDER Package

*1：Excluding operator’s room.
*2：In the blacklist method generally used at homes and offices, data is required for detecting and eliminating viruses. This data needs to be updated regularly, and periodic scanning of the system is required. These processes apply additional load to the system, affecting system performance. In addition, if updating of the data is neglected, this method does not provide protection for the latest vulnerability issues. On the other hand, in the whitelist method that we have employed, only the programs required for MRI operations (which are registered in the security software) can be executed. Thus updating of virus-related data is not required, and stable operation of the MRI system can be ensured.
*3：It is necessary to set “Advanced Security Setting” to ON.

About Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation
Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation is a leading worldwide provider of medical diagnostic imaging systems and comprehensive medical solutions, such as CT, X-ray and vascular, ultrasound, nuclear medicine, and MRI systems, as well as information systems for medical institutions. Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation has been providing medical products for over 80 years. Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Toshiba. Visit Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation’s web site athttp://www.toshibamedicalsystems.com/.

Vantage Elan, Vantage Titan, M-Power are trademarks of Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation.