We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies. Cookie Policy.

Features Partner Sites Information LinkXpress
Sign In
Advertise with Us
GLOBETECH PUBLISHING LLC

Supersonic Imagine

Designs, develops and markets ultrasound systems that can acquire images 200 times faster than conventional ultrasoun... read more Featured Products: More products

Download Mobile App




SuperSonic Imagine’s Aixplorer Could Eliminate the Need for Some Liver Biopsies

By MedImaging International staff writers
Posted on 17 Mar 2014
Print article
Image: The Aixplorer ultrasound with MultiWave technology (Photo courtesy of SuperSonic Imagine).
Image: The Aixplorer ultrasound with MultiWave technology (Photo courtesy of SuperSonic Imagine).
Image: Michele Debain, the global marketing director for SuperSonic Imagine (Photo courtesy of Supersonic Imagine).
Image: Michele Debain, the global marketing director for SuperSonic Imagine (Photo courtesy of Supersonic Imagine).
SuperSonic Imagine (Aix-en-Provence, France), the French ultrasound specialist, demonstrated its Aixplorer technology to an enthusiastic audience at the European Congress of Radiology (ECR) this year.

Aixplorer has a unique ultrasound imaging technology called MultiWave Technology, which makes it the only ultrasound system that images two types of waves to better characterize tissue.

Michele Debain is Global Marketing Director for SuperSonic Imagine. She explains the nature of this technology. “This advanced technology uses two kinds of waves to image the body, one is an ultrasound wave that ensures impeccable image quality of morphology and on the other, is a shear wave (ShearWave Elastography) that measures and displays true tissue stiffness in real time. The unique ultrasound platform that supports this innovation acquires information nearly 200 times faster than conventional systems,” she emphasized.

This technology was originally designed for breast imaging but it has progressed to cover a full range of applications for the thyroid, liver, prostate, musculoskeletal and gynecology. “This expanded range has more market potential due to the fuller nature of its functionality,” said Ms. Debain. It is particularly suitable for examination of the liver. Hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and fatty liver are all increasingly prevalent worldwide and these can all lead to fibrosis and cirrhosis. Liver stiffness increases with the severity of liver fibrosis, making it an important parameter to help physicians determine the stage of disease and the kind of treatment needed. SuperSonic Imagine’s technology enables a noninvasive assessment of liver stiffness.

“When used for the liver, real time, quantitative, ShearWave Elastography has a very distinctive and unique capability,” informed Ms. Debain. “With Aixplorer’s technology we can scan the liver, measure tissue stiffness, and in some cases either avoid or confirm the need for biopsy. This expedites diagnosis.” Aixplorer could also help to monitor the impact of therapy to see if a drug treatment is actually having the desired effect.

One patient who fortunately avoided the need for a liver biopsy as a result of Aixplorer’s technology is Dan Conley, a patient who has had a fatty liver with elevated enzymes for nearly 20 years. He is a typical candidate to benefit from the technology. When his clinician suggested he have a liver biopsy to assess the state of his fatty liver condition, he in turn suggested that rather than an invasive procedure, he would rather undergo an ultrasound and ShearWave Elastography exam with Aixplorer. “There are difficulties with biopsy,” explained Mr. Conley. “A liver is a large organ so there is a high degree of heterogeneity. A biopsy in one place may not be representative of the whole liver and therefore not be a true reading of the liver’s health status.”

“I was happy to avoid a biopsy by showing my physician my measurements on the ShearWave Elastography exam. He determined that my liver was healthy and that I did not need further testing,” said a relieved Mr. Conley.

Aixplorer also has an innovative technology for vascular applications. UltraFast Doppler can give full hemodynamic, Color and Pulsed Wave Doppler results from just seconds of scanning. “The speed of this technology makes it particularly useful for children, as well as allowing for a greater efficiency of workflow and economic efficiency,” said Ms. Debain.

Related Links:

SuperSonic Imagine


Gold Member
Solid State Kv/Dose Multi-Sensor
AGMS-DM+
New
Self-Driving Mobile C-arm
CIARTIC Move
New
Ultrasound Doppler System
Doppler BT-200
New
Ultrasound System
Acclarix AX9

Print article

Channels

Radiography

view channel
:	Image: The AI model could be a valuable adjunct to human radiologists in breast cancer diagnoses and risk prediction (Photo courtesy of 123RF)

AI Model Predicts 5-Year Breast Cancer Risk from Mammograms

Approximately 13% of U.S. women, or one in every eight, are predicted to develop invasive breast cancer over their lifetime, with 1 in 39 women (3%) succumbing to the illness, according to the American... Read more

Nuclear Medicine

view channel
Image: The AI system uses scintigraphy imaging for early diagnosis of cardiac amyloidosis (Photo courtesy of 123RF)

AI System Automatically and Reliably Detects Cardiac Amyloidosis Using Scintigraphy Imaging

Cardiac amyloidosis, a condition characterized by the buildup of abnormal protein deposits (amyloids) in the heart muscle, severely affects heart function and can lead to heart failure or death without... Read more

General/Advanced Imaging

view channel
Image: The CIARTIC Move self-driving mobile C-arm has received FDA clearance (Photo courtesy of Siemens)

Self-Driving Mobile C-Arm Reduces Imaging Time during Surgery

Intraoperative imaging faces significant challenges due to staff shortages and the high demands placed on surgical teams in the operating room (OR). A common challenge during many OR procedures is the... Read more

Imaging IT

view channel
Image: The new Medical Imaging Suite makes healthcare imaging data more accessible, interoperable and useful (Photo courtesy of Google Cloud)

New Google Cloud Medical Imaging Suite Makes Imaging Healthcare Data More Accessible

Medical imaging is a critical tool used to diagnose patients, and there are billions of medical images scanned globally each year. Imaging data accounts for about 90% of all healthcare data1 and, until... Read more

Industry News

view channel
Image: Samsung Medison CEO Mr. Yongkwan Kim and Bracco Imaging CEO Dr. Fulvio Renoldi Bracco endorsed a MoU agreement (Photo courtesy of Bracco Group)

Samsung and Bracco Enter Into New Diagnostic Ultrasound Technology Agreement

Samsung Medison (Seoul, South Korea) and Bracco Imaging (Milan, Italy) have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) agreement to pioneer a new area for diagnostic ultrasound devices and contrast agents.... Read more
Copyright © 2000-2024 Globetech Media. All rights reserved.