3T MRI Technology Alliance to Enhance Diagnosis, Treatment, and Postoperative Evaluation of Sports Injuries

Siemens Healthcare (Erlangen, Germany) and the Steadman Hawkins Research Foundation (Vail, CO, USA) have formed a strategic alliance that will add 3 Tesla (T) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technology to the Foundation and allow its clinicians and researchers better access to advanced sports medical imaging.

"Imaging has become a vital part of sports medicine for diagnosis, treatment, and postoperative evaluation,” said J. Michael Egan, chief executive officer, Steadman Hawkins Research Foundation (SHRF). "Patients from all over the world are treated at Steadman Hawkins, and they return for an assessment of their progress. With this strategic alliance, we look forward to all of the new avenues in imaging research that we can explore.”

"With the strongest magnet field strength used clinically, the Magnetom Verio can be used for many applications, including neurology and functional neuroevaluation, orthopedic and cartilage assessment, breast, vascular, and cardiac imaging,” said Walter Märzendorfer, chief executive officer, Magnetic Resonance, Siemens Healthcare. "We are especially honored to join with the Steadman Hawkins Research Foundation to advance the field of orthopedic imaging and sports medicine research.”

Siemens' Magnetom Verio is a 3T MRI system with a 70-cm open bore and Total imaging matrix (Tim) technology, which combines all of these attributes into one solution. The MR system represents a new class of MRI technology that increases access to advanced diagnostic capabilities and provides high-field imaging to many patients who could not benefit from the technology before.

Once the Magnetom Verio is installed at the Foundation, Steadman Hawkins will use the data collected from it to test new software being developed specifically for orthopedic sports medicine and research being conducted in Vail. Researchers at the Foundation will then analyze the imaging data, compare it to their surgical data, and determine whether they can correlate the images with actual surgical observations.

For instance, researchers will be able to evaluate physiology of cartilage tissue and determine the health and regeneration of that tissue in a completely noninvasive way, before and after treatment. Until now, a clinician would look inside a joint, and perhaps, take a biopsy just to evaluate the results of an operation or to measure progress. If the patient happens to be an athlete, in many instances, it will be possible to determine the status of an injury without surgery and without keeping the player off the field until he or she recovers from the diagnostic procedure.

As the newest area of research at Steadman Hawkins, imaging research joins the Foundation's current departments: basic science research, clinical research, and the biomechanics research laboratory. All four departments will be integrated into the Foundation's Education and Fellowship Program.

The Magnetom Verio is expected to be installed at the Vail Valley Medical Center (VVMC) by the end of 2008. The Steadman Hawkins Clinic is partnering with SHRF to establish a new fellowship for sports medicine radiology, as well as developing specific clinical research programs for the hip, shoulder, and knee, in conjunction with Siemens.

The strategic alliance with the Steadman Hawkins Research Foundation has been signed under Siemens U.S. healthcare entity, Siemens Medical Solutions USA, Inc. (Malvern, PA, USA).

The Siemens Healthcare Sector is one of the world's largest suppliers to the healthcare industry. The company is a medical solutions provider with core competence and innovative strength in diagnostic and therapeutic technologies as well as in knowledge engineering, including information technology and system integration.

The Steadman Hawkins Research Foundation is a nonprofit charitable organization. The Foundation is dedicated to keeping individuals of all ages physically active through orthopedic research and education in the areas of arthritis, healing, rehabilitation, and injury.


Related Links:
Siemens Healthcare
Steadman Hawkins Research Foundation