Philips, Cobalt and Lamboo Partnership to Develop New Ingenia 1.5 Tesla Mobile
PRESS RELEASE 7th September 2011
The first-ever
digital broadband MRI
Philips Healthcare and Lamboo Mobile
Medical are to develop the world's first Mobile Ingenia 1.5T mobile
MRI system for the leading medical UK charity Cobalt. Powered by
the breakthrough dStream architecture, the Ingenia is the first MR
system that brings MR signal digitisation closer to the patient
resulting in an increased SNR.
Launched at RSNA last year, Philips'
Ingenia ushers in a new age of MRI imaging with digital broadband
MRI. Ingenia introduces digital signal acquisition and processing
directly in the RF receive coil nearest to the patient. By
digitising the signal directly in the RF receive coil and
maintaining the digital connection throughout the entire MRI
scanning process, Ingenia is able to generate up to a forty percent
improvement in SNR ratio. Improving SNR ratio increases speed and
image resolution assisting the physician in making better informed
decisions for all clinical applications. Ingenia incorporates an
integrated, hidden posterior coil enabling full body coverage and
eliminating the need to place multiple connecting coils around
various parts of the body. The coils themselves are also lighter
and together with the reduction in coil placement, unnecessary prep
time is reduced, leading to as much as a thirty percent increase in
workflow improvement. Mike Hayden, Sales Director Imaging, Philips
Healthcare UK says, there is increased pressure for hospitals to be
as efficient as possible. The Ingenia MR system optimises workflow
by completely eliminating or reducing time-consuming steps like
coil and patient manipulation. Compounded over time, this makes a
real difference in terms of efficiency, not to mention patient
comfort."
Cobalt is a leading UK medical charity
who were also the first to own a 3.0T mobile in Europe, the Philips
Achieva 3.0T TX. 'We have been providing a mobile MRI
service for nearly 20 years and have experienced many developments
in MRI technology; we believe the new Philips Ingenia will enable
us to enhance the mobile services we currently provide through new
technology" says Cobalt CEO Peter Sharpe " The new Philips
FlexStream workflow will allow greater versatility and patient
throughput through better coil and patient management. The
DirectDigital coil and RF system will also enable up to a 40%
increase in SNR with improved image quality. There is also a
growing need to accommodate larger patients, and the 70 cm bore
will provide more space" The new Ingenia 1.5 Tesla mobile
service will be launched in November 2011.
The new mobile is being developed in
conjunction with Dutch medical mobile specialist Lamboo Mobile
Medical. Through Lamboo Mobile Medical COBALT is also paying
attention to an environmental friendly solution by ordering a
climate system within their new Mobile MRI trailer which saves a
lot of energy by only activating when it is needed. The newest Ac /
Chiller systems in combination with the unique Lamboo Mobile
Medical sandwich paneling construction gives many advantages such
as: no Corrosion; lowest noise levels inside and outside the unit;
highest possible isolation energy; long lifetime, delivering a
lower total cost of ownership; lightest and strongest construction
available in the market.
Notes:
Royal Philips
Electronics
Royal Philips Electronics of the Netherlands (NYSE: PHG, AEX:
PHI) is a diversified Health and Well-being company, focused on
improving people's lives through timely innovations. As a world
leader in healthcare, lifestyle and lighting, Philips integrates
technologies and design into people-centric solutions, based on
fundamental customer insights and the brand promise of "sense and
simplicity". Headquartered in the Netherlands, Philips employs more
than 116,000 employees in more than 60 countries worldwide. With
sales of EUR 23 billion in 2009, the company is a market leader in
cardiac care, acute care and home healthcare, energy efficient
lighting solutions and new lighting applications, as well as
lifestyle products for personal well-being and pleasure with strong
leadership positions in flat TV, male shaving and grooming,
portable entertainment and oral healthcare. News from Philips is
located at www.philips.com/newscenter.
Cobalt
Cobalt is a UK-registered charity
established over 40 years ago, initially to provide equipment and
accommodation for the oncology unit serving the community in the
Gloucestershire area. In the early 90s it expanded its activities
to provide a mobile MRI service which eventually comprised five
Philips mobile MRI systems serving the local National Health
Service hospitals. This included Europe's first 1.5T mobile unit.
Since then the Charity has worked closely with Philips to establish
a state-of-the-art imaging centre in Cheltenham, which now includes
three 1.5T mobile scanners, the first independent 3.0T clinical MRI
scanner, the first Philips Gemini GXL Open PET/CT scanner, and the
first Panorama High Field Open MRI scanner in the UK. In 2010
Cobalt, in partnership with Philips, developed the first mobile 3.0
Tesla MRI in Europe. The unit based around the Achieva 3.0T TX,
currently provides the only mobile 3.0 Tesla MRI service in
Europe.
Cobalt has worked in partnership with Philips over many years.
Cobalt organise MRI training courses for Philips within a dedicated
training facility in Cheltenham and also work with Philips in
providing Application Specialist support to Philips customers.
Lamboo Medical Mobile
Lamboo Mobile Medical has 50 years experience and delivers a
wide variety of mobile and relocatable medical units, serving
customers in Europe, Africa, Asia and the Emirates.
