Worldwide, five percent of all people over the age of 65 suffer from atrial fibrillation. While cardiac arrhythmia can be treated with medication, patients have to take it for the rest of their lives. Ablation therapy offers an alternative: myocardial cells in the left atrium are obliterated to interrupt the problematic pathway. However, every patient is different. For this reason, electro physiologists have to be able to discern the size and shape of the left ventricle in precise detail during the intervention. Syngo DynaCT Cardiac provides the necessary support: the software from Siemens Medical Solutions provides three-dimensional displays of the ventricle. The physician is able to view the 3-D object from all sides - even during an intervention.
During the examination, with the press of a button syngo DynaCT Cardiac delivers CTlike slice images of an organ in motion using an angiographic C-arm system. During the intervention, the physician simply moves the C-arm in a semicircle around the patient and - optionally ECG-triggered acquires a defined number of projections. As with a CT scanner, these projections are then reconstructed into slice images and a 3D representation, which are sent to the monitor at the angiography system.
Using the new software, the electrophysiologist can create clinical acquisitions at the precise moment they are needed during the intervention. The physician previously had to rely on clinical images taken the day before or during the patients last visit, usually with a CT or MRI system. However, the state of organs can change continually. Images may be already obsolete the following day, but the physician has to use them as the basis for planning the intervention.
Since its market introduction in 2004, the researchers at Siemens Medical Solutions have continued development of the syngo DynaCT software and expanded its areas of application. In addition to neuroradiological acquisitions, physicians can use syngo DynaCT to generate soft tissue images of the entire body and detect tumors. Syngo DynaCT Cardiac also displays the heart for the first time. "This is a milestone in the short but very successful history of syngo DynaCT. Once again, the software has shown its use across a wide range of applications, maintaining its position in interventional radiology and beyond," said Dr. Norbert Gaus, the head of the Angiography, Fluoroscopy, and Radiographic Systems division at Siemens Medical Solutions. Syngo DynaCT Cardiac can be used with Siemens angiography systems with flat detectors.
About Siemens Medical Solutions
Siemens Medical Solutions of Siemens AG (NYSE: SI) is one of the world's largest suppliers to the
healthcare industry. The company is known for bringing together innovative medical technologies, healthcare information systems, management consulting, and support services, to help customers achieve tangible, sustainable, clinical and financial outcomes. Recent acquisitions in the area of in-vitro diagnostics - such as Diagnostic Products Corporation and Bayer Diagnostics - mark a significant milestone for Siemens as it becomes the first full service diagnostics company. Employing more than 41,000 people worldwide and operating in over 130 countries, Siemens Medical Solutions reported sales of 8.23 billion EUR, orders of 9.33 billion EUR and group profit of 1.06 billion EUR for fiscal 2006 (Sept. 30), according to U.S. GAAP. Further information can be found by visiting www.siemens.com/medical