Philips highlights new x-ray, CT cardiovascular imaging technologies at TCT 2004

Philips Medical Systems presented enhanced cardiovascular X-ray and CT systems at the Cardiovascular Research Foundation's annual Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics Scientific Symposium (TCT) this week in Washington.

The new systems include the Philips Allura Xper FD20, Brilliance CT Private Practice CV configuration and Allura 3D-Coronary Angiography (3D-CA) tool.

The Allura Xper FD20 captures and processes information at a resolution up to four times greater than that of conventional angiography systems, Philips said. It also includes StentBoost, Philips interventional tool, which provides a clear view of stent deployment in coronary arteries.

Philips newest interventional tool, the Allura 3D-CA, was created in collaboration with scientists at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. It produces 3D images of coronary vessels from multiple viewpoints and angles.

The Brilliance CT Private Practice CV is specifically designed for the analysis of cardiac and peripheral vasculature. It non-invasively assesses heart disease and helps reduce reliance on and expense of other tests, Philips said.

Philips also talked about the use of its Rate Responsive CVCT technologies in a comparative study of cardiac CT imaging versus quantitative catheter angiography (QCA). Coronary assessment by CT scanning and catheter angiography, called CATSCAN, is currently in an advanced stage of patient enrollment, the company said. As a large, international multi-center, prospective and double-blind study, CATSCAN is intended to prove that CT systems employing Rate Responsive CVCT technologies are a suitable alternative for many patients previously sent for a diagnostic catheterization procedure, according to Philips.

Results of the study are expected at this year's American Heart Association (AHA) and Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) annual meetings in November.

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