According to the World Health Organization (WHO), approximately 15 million people suffer from stroke every year. A stroke results from decreased blood flow in the brain, which frequently causes irreparable damage of the cerebral tissue. The earlier a stroke is treated, the larger the chance that as little brain tissue as possible is destroyed. To further shorten the time from diagnosis to treatment, Siemens Healthcare has developed the software syngo Neuro PBV IR, which directly displays the status of the cerebral tissue during minimally invasive procedures. Minimally invasive techniques for stroke treatment involve the use of a thin catheter within the arteries of the brain to either deliver a drug to dissolve the blood clot or a special catheter to mechanically remove it.

Syngo Neuro PBV IR for the first time provides neuroradiologists with current information about the status of the brain tissue during minimally invasive procedures. This not only results in clinical advantages for stroke treatment, but is equally helpful for tumor biopsy and treatment, tissue embolization, and vasospasm therapy (spasms of blood vessels).

Another benefit of the new Siemens software is that it is capable of providing blood volume data for the whole brain, unlike traditional CT acquisition, and allows the clinician to review the information from any orientation, axial, coronal, sagittal etc. Syngo Neuro PBV IR uses cone-beam CT technology (syngo DynaCT) to acquire the information required for such advanced tissue visualization. This proprietary Siemens development from 2004 led to a paradigm shift in angiographic imaging, introducing the ability to view cross sectional soft tissue information with an angiographic C-arm system for the first time.

All that is required to generate the PBV information is two C-arm rotations around the patient and a steady state contrast injection. The sophisticated processing algorithms of the system use the resulting data to generate a neurological PBV map. The information is available at tableside, in less than 40 seconds, without the need for any further user interaction.

Syngo Neuro PBV IR further expands the Siemens imaging application portfolio for Artis zee. Artis zee is the product family name of Siemens systems used for interventional radiology and cardiology. These systems are available in biplane, multi-axial, ceiling-mounted, floor-mounted, and multi-functional configurations.

Syngo Neuro PBV IR is the second functional imaging application for the Artis zee portfolio after the successful launch of syngo iFlow. The application syngo iFlow allows for the display of the functional information inherent in a digital subtraction angiography (DSA) series in a single color image. Syngo Neuro PBV IR was first introduced to the public at the 2009 Annual Meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).

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About Siemens Healthcare
The Siemens Healthcare Sector is one of the world's largest suppliers to the healthcare industry and a trendsetter in medical imaging, laboratory diagnostics, medical information technology and hearing aids. Siemens offers its customers products and solutions for the entire range of patient care from a single source - from prevention and early detection to diagnosis, and on to treatment and aftercare. By optimizing clinical workflows for the most common diseases, Siemens also makes healthcare faster, better and more cost-effective. Siemens Healthcare employs some 48,000 employees worldwide and operates around the world. In fiscal year 2009 (to September 30), the Sector posted revenue of 11.9 billion euros and profit of around 1.5 billion euros. For further information please visit: www.siemens.com/healthcare.