Hitachi demonstrates upgrades, Probe Solutions to HI Vision 5500 ultrasound

At this year’s Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) annual meeting in Chicago, Hitachi Medical Systems America demonstrated advances for its HI Vision 5500 ultrasound system, as well as probe-based solutions.

For the HI Vision 5500, Hitachi will introduce the version 6 software upgrade, which adds HI Res speckle reduction resulting in cleaner images. Also, included in the upgrade is HI definition tissue harmonic imaging, a harmonic imaging mode that increases penetration and contrast resolution through a dual-band technique that employs the sub-harmonic band, as well as the second harmonic band, according to the company.

A Hitachi spokesman said it recently began installing this upgrade at no cost value for all sites with warranty and extended warranty coverage.

At RSNA, the company also demonstrated the potential economic and workflow advantages of switching some biopsy procedures from CT to ultrasound. Hitachi reported increased penetration and unique probe designs, like its through-crystal dedicated biopsy and therapy probe, are allowing its customers to overcome limitations used to necessitate CT guidance.

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