Johns Hopkins Bayview at Forefront of Expanding Access to MRI With First Install of Siemens New MAGNETOM Verio

Bayview Increases High-Field MR Imaging Services to Unprecedented Number of Claustrophobic, Elderly and Bariatric Patients 


MALVERN, Pa., Feb. 4  /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center in Baltimore has become the first facility in the United States to install the newest magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system from Siemens Medical Solutions (http://www.usa.siemens.com/healthcare) -- the MAGNETOM(R) Verio. Combining 3 Tesla (T) strength and sensitivity with a 70-cm open bore and Tim(TM) (Tot al imaging mat rix) technology, the MAGNETOM Verio is helping Hopkins Bayview to provide high-field imaging to many patients who previously could not benefit from the technology.

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Certain patients, such as children or adults experiencing excessive pain or limited mobility, and the elderly, have had difficulty tolerating MRI exams. However, the Verio's short length -- the shortest 3T on the market today -- along with its large bore -- the widest 3T available -- can help reduce a patient's anxiety and discomfort. Furthermore, due to the system's wide bore and a 550-pound table-weight capacity, the MAGNETOM Verio enables clinicians to image and diagnose many obese patients, an increasingly important factor as one-in-three Americans is considered obese.

"The Verio is an exciting addition to our facility because it enables us to provide high-field imaging to new patient populations, including our bariatric patients," said Dr. Mark E. Bohlman, chairman of imaging at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center. "Furthermore, the Verio is already being used to assist our clinicians in new ways, such as scanning for viable cartilage for transplant and helping create neurosurgical, pre-op planning maps."

With the strongest magnet field strength used clinically, the Verio can be used for many applications, including neurology and functional neuro evaluation, orthopedic and cartilage assessment, breast, vascular, and cardiac imaging.

"MRI is increasingly becoming the exam of choice in the U.S., with a 10 percent increase in MRI exams in just the past five years," said Jeffrey Bundy, vice president, Magnetic Resonance, Siemens Medical Solutions USA, Inc. "Siemens' Verio is allowing healthcare providers to meet this escalating demand while, at the same time, making the experience much more comfortable for the patient."

About the MAGNETOM Verio

The Verio, with the power of Tim, has up to 102 seamlessly integrated matrix coil elements and up to 32 independent radiofrequency channels, enabling advanced clinical applications. Tim allows flexible combinations of up to four different coils that make patient and coil repositioning virtually unnecessary.

  Standard on the Verio are advanced syngo applications:
  -- BLADE, correcting for motion artifacts encountered in neuro, ortho, and
     abdominal procedures
  -- TWIST, enabling 3D MR angiography for arterial and venous phases
  -- SPACE, generating 3D acquisitions for complex head, spine, abdomen,
     pelvic, and ortho exams
  -- GRAPPA, identifying small renal cysts with shorter breath-holds and
     increased throughput


  About Johns Hopkins Bayview


Johns Hopkins Bayview is a full-service, JCAHO-accredited academic medical center. Founded in 1773, it is one of the oldest, continuous health care systems on the East Coast. Part of the Johns Hopkins Health System, Johns Hopkins Bayview has more than 700 beds and is home to one of Maryland's most comprehensive neonatal intensive care units, a sleep disorders center, an area-wide trauma center, the state's only regional burn center and a wide variety of nationally recognized post-acute care and geriatrics programs.

About Siemens Healthcare

Siemens Healthcare is one of the world's largest suppliers to the healthcare industry. The company is a renowned medical solutions provider with core competence and innovative strength in diagnostic and therapeutic technologies as well as in knowledge engineering, including information technology and system integration. With its laboratory diagnostics acquisitions, Siemens Healthcare will be the first fully integrated diagnostics company, bringing together imaging and lab diagnostics, therapy, and healthcare information technology solutions, supplemented by consulting and support services. Siemens Healthcare delivers solutions across the entire continuum of care -- from prevention and early detection, to diagnosis, therapy and care. The company employs more than 49,000 people worldwide and operates in 130 countries. In the fiscal year 2007 (Sept. 30), Siemens Healthcare reported sales of euro 9.85 billion, orders of euro 10.27 billion, and group profit of euro 1.32 billion. Further information can be found by visiting http://www.siemens.com/healthcare 

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DATASOURCE: Siemens Medical Solutions



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