GE introduces cardiac imaging techniques using HDMR

GE Healthcare unveiled new cardiac imaging techniques developed with its high definition magnetic resonance (HDMR) system at the Society for Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance (SCMR) 8th Annual Scientific Sessions in San Francisco, Calif., Jan. 21 - 23.
   
HDMR, available on GE's Signa 1.5T and 3.0T MR systems, enables simultaneous imaging in multiple channels in increments of 16. HDMR features balanced acquisition architecture, with individual receive channels connected to dedicated reconstruction engines, GE said.  
   
As channels are added (in units of 16, 32, 48, 64 and more), image-processing power increases in proportion. The coil elements that detect the signal, the receivers that digitize it and the array processors that perform calculations are scaled together so that simultaneous imaging can be performed without image processing delays, according to the company.
   
HDMR provides physicians with image clarity for patients who are difficult to image due to movement, including Parkinson's patients who suffer from uncontrollable patient motion and children who do not respond to sedation, GE said.
   
In addition, HDMR is enabling physicians to consistently perform highly targeted studies of diabetic patients with lower blood flow to the lower legs, GE said.
   
The new cardiovascular imaging techniques using HDMR introduced at SCMR include: 1.5T Exhite HD MR echo cardiac imaging: real-time imaging of the heart with the resolution of MR at the speed of ultrasound, without the need for breathholding or ECG gating; Exhite HD Tricks angiographic imaging: a new 32-element peripheral 1.5T vascular coil, providing images of the lower leg and foot vessels with unprecedented definition; and ReportCARD: a tool that reduces review, analysis and cardiac MR reporting time.

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