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Siemens is ramping up its activities in breast MRI with the launch of Magnetom Espree – Pink, a new version of the Espree 1.5-tesla scanner that’s optimized for breast imaging. The scanner includes an 8-channel breast coil from Sentinelle Medical of Toronto that can be used for both imaging and biopsy applications.

Siemens is emphasizing Espree’s wide 70-cm aperture and 125-cm bore length as making the system more patient-friendly for breast MRI scans, while the system’s 550-lb table limit makes it possible to scan larger patients. Espree – Pink will begin shipping in early 2009.

Siemens is also talking up syngo Brevis, a multimodality workstation for breast MR and mammography, as well as new dedicated breast coils for 1.5-tesla and 3-tesla scanners using its Total image matrix (Tim) coil concept. An advanced imaging coil will be available with 16 radiofrequency channels.

Meanwhile, Siemens isn’t ignoring men’s health — the company is highlighting syngo Tissue 4D, an application for analyzing dynamic data from prostate and liver MRI studies. Tissue 4D has two types of workflow, standard and pharmacokinetic modeling (PKM). PKM quantifies contrast uptake and can be used for oncology workflow and follow-up studies.

Another new MRI application, syngo TimCT Oncology, is designed to enable continuous table movement for extended field-of-view imaging. Siemens believes the application reduces the need for rescheduling multiple exams — for example, a pelvic exam can be completed in as little as 20 minutes.

Finally, Siemens is introducing syngo Grace @ 3T, a quantitative MR breast spectroscopy application that monitors choline as a biomarker, providing information on the biochemical composition of breast lesions. Preliminary results indicate that detection of choline signal in breast tumors correlates with breast cancer, and Siemens believes that checking relative choline concentration during therapy makes treatment monitoring more reliable.

In sleep apnea, a sleeper’s breathing is halted as the airway is blocked by muscle and other tissue. The condition is characterized by loud bursts of snoring and chronic fatigue. The researchers suggest early diagnosis and treatment of sleep apnea may help forestall memory loss.

“Our findings demonstrate that impaired breathing during sleep can lead to a serious brain injury that disrupts memory and thinking,” principal investigator Ronald Harper of the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles said in a statement.

The researchers used magnetic resonance imaging to collect high-resolution images of the brains of 43 sleep apnea patients, including slices of the mammillary bodies — named because they resemble small breasts on the underside of the brain — and compared the results to images of 66 controls matched for age and gender.

The study, published in the journal Neuroscience Letters, found sleep apnea patients’ mammillary bodies were nearly 20 percent smaller.

“The findings are important because patients suffering memory loss from other syndromes, such as alcoholism or Alzheimer disease, also show shrunken mammillary bodies,” study lead author Rajesh Kumar said.

Source: UPI.com

Sir William said: “MRI scanning has some undoubted benefits in medicine, especially as an aid to accurate clinical diagnosis. However we need to bear in mind that the magnetic fields produced by the machines are quite substantial and that these fields are increasing in order to achieve improved clarity of image. The exposures to patients and medical staff from the magnetic fields can be high and there is a shortage of information on possible adverse long term health effects. The Agency’s Board therefore considers more research is needed in this area.”

The announcement follows a report to the Board from the Agency’s independent Advisory Group on Non-ionising Radiation (AGNIR) which made a number of recommendations on new areas for research1. This followed a thorough examination of the sources of MRI exposure and the scientific evidence for biological effects and health effects. In particular the Chairman of AGNIR, Professor Anthony Swerdlow, said “There is a pressing need for a well-conducted study of mortality and cancer incidence in workers with high occupational exposures to static magnetic fields, particularly those associated with medical MRI scanners.”

The Board also noted that the view that there is a need for more epidemiological research on people exposed to MRI is shared by the World Health Organization2. The WHO points out that an international collaborative study may be the most effective way forward, because it would ensure there are sufficient numbers of exposed cases in the study to draw accurate conclusions. The Agency will now examine the feasibility of such a study with specialists here and abroad, with the aim of launching such a study as soon as possible.

The Agency will be setting up a Working Group under the Chairmanship of Board member Professor Andrew Hall. The Group will undertake a detailed review in order to advise the HPA Board on future research on possible long-term health consequences in people exposed to the static magnetic fields associated with Magnetic Resonance Imaging. Emphasis will be placed on identifying appropriate study groups and their exposures, the diseases of potential concern and the feasibility of future epidemiological investigations. The Group will report to the HPA Board within one year of commencement of the scoping study.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) was first developed 30 years ago as an aid to medical diagnosis. It is based on a well established scientific technique, nuclear magnetic resonance, which uses the interaction of magnetic fields with the spin of the nuclei of atoms to provide detailed information on the constituents of chemicals and biological materials. MRI can provide excellent, detailed images of the body’s soft tissue and is an alternative to using x-ray techniques such as computed tomography (CT). MRI does not use ionising radiation and this can be a distinct advantage for examinations of children or for abdominal examinations where radiation doses can be high. However, MRI requires large magnetic fields for successful scanning and hence the need for a study of people who work in the fields. People are exposed to high magnetic fields in industry and elsewhere, but MRI produces the highest magnetic fields in use today, and hence the need for a study of people who regularly work with the machines.

Source: EMAXHEALTH.COM