International MR Alliance for Cardiac Analysis

In a move that will provide integrated software for processing and quantifying magnetic resonance (MR) images of the heart, Marconi Medical Systems, Inc. (Cleveland, OH, USA) has made an alliance with Medis Medical Imaging Systems (Leiden, The Netherlands). The alliance will allow Marconi to provide its customers with a complete package that includes its magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system as well as the cardiac analysis software of Medis.


In practice, patients are to be scanned in one of Marconi's MR scanners to obtain multiple slice images at representative points throughout the heartbeat cycle. Medis' MRI-Mass analysis software is initiated by the scanner operator, either at the scanner console or a dedicated workstation. The software performs automated or user-guided edge detection of endocardial and epicardial surfaces.

The resulting wall contours are then used to calculate key dynamic heart parameters, including myocardial mass and volume; ejection fraction; stroke volume; and regional wall thickness, thinning, and wall motion. Secialized display software provides a 3-D display of ventricular surfaces that is color coded to represent wall motion or thickness. Multiple report formats are provided for online review or optional hard copy output.

Medis says the alliance will enable the company to further develop its analysis software and make the software a clinical and industry standard. Medis has been developing analysis packages for MR for seven years, with a team of image-processing experts working closely with several clinical research sites around the world, and its MRI-Mass software package has been cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

"Cardiac MR is clearly one of the most important areas of growth for MRI, and Medis' MRI-Mass cardiac analysis package has proven itself as the preferred way to meet clinical user needs,” said Robert Gylling, vice president of MR strategic planning at Marconi.



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