Convention Spotlight

The American Heart Association holds its Scientific Sessions from Nov. 7th-10th, at Morial Conference Center in New Orleans. Not only will the warm Louisiana weather be welcome to those feeling the first bites of fall, the exhibits from several leading vendors will provide a first look at many new products and technologies.



Analogic Corp. (booth #948) is introducing the LIFEGUARD ICG Patient Monitor. The monitor provides continuous cardiac output by measuring the impedance cardiogram (ICG) to measure cardiac output. It displays 12 additional direct and derived hemodynamic parameters plus non-invasive blood pressure and heart rate and also displays both the ECG and ICG waveforms on a color display. The unit weighs less than five pounds and operates on battery power for up to two hours or on AC power.



GE Healthcare (booth #1501) is showing off three new products. The Vivid 7 Dimension cardiovascular ultrasound system, with real-time 4D and multidimensional imaging capabilities, brings new echocardiography acquisition, reconstruction, and analysis techniques that allow physicians to view images in multiple planes simultaneously.

GE also is showing the Vivid i, a miniaturized cardiovascular ultrasound system featuring a portable, wireless design. Finally, GE is featuring its LightSpeed VCT, a volume CT system that can noninvasively capture any organ in one second, scan the whole body in less than 10 seconds, and capture images of the heart and coronaries in fewer than five heartbeats. New clinical tools include: multidimensional imaging with acquisition technology that acquires bi-plane and tri-plane images with color and Doppler; 4D imaging with real-time display of 3D images of the heart; 4D tissue synchronization imaging; and bloodflow imaging.



Philips Medical Systems (booth #2101) is showing products in five major areas. Ultrasound, Patient monitoring, cardiovascular CT, MRI, and medical IT. The new iE33 intelligent echocardiography system features 2D image quality, powerful 2D and 3D measurement of cardiac function and anatomy, Live 3D imaging of the beating heart, and user-centered ergonomics.
The company is also showing the IntelliVue MP20 and the IntelliVue MP30 patient monitors, Page Writer Trim I, Page Writer II, and PageWriter III cardiographs.

In cardiovascular CT, Philips is exhibiting the Private Practice CV Configuration, giving details of its CATSCAN (Coronary Assessment by Computed Tomographic Scanning and Catheter ANgiography) study and demonstrating its electrophysiology (EP) software package.

Within magnetic resonance, Philips is showing the Achieva CV.

In medical IT, Philips is showing the Allura Xper and Haemosphere with Xcelera CLM & Tracemaster.



Siemens Medical Solutions (booth #2145) is featuring the SOMATOM Sensation Cardiac 64. The 64-slice scanner is optimized for cardiac, thoracic and vascular imaging.

Also from Siemens is the Interventional Cardiac 3D (IC3D), designed to create three-dimensional images of the coronary vessels in the heart, providing high or great accuracy in the sizing and placement of stents.

The new Symbia platform with TruePoint SPECT CT technology combines the functional sensitivity of SPECT with the rich, anatomical detail of diagnostic multislice CT.

Another product on display is the MAGNETOM Avanto 1.5 tesla MRI system with Tim. Siemens also is showing the c.cam for cardiology diagnosis in recline and new capabilities for the Acuson Sequoia C512 and C256, and Auson CV70 echocardiography systems.

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