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Canon Medical Systems UK together with Clinical Diagnostics Educational Ltd. recently ran a one day course on “The increasing impact of ultrasound in general gynaecology and reproductive medicine – clinical and technical aspects.” Held at Bromsgrove Hilton Hotel in Bromsgrove, attendees voted it an excellent venue, describing the day as “well organised with brilliant staff running the course.”

 

Aimed at experienced sonographers and clinical and nursing personnel working in the field of medical ultrasound, the course offered an intensive lecture programme that reviewed current scanning practice in gynaecology and other associated areas of pregnancy and women’s healthcare. It also highlighted recent developments in scanning technology and their impact in terms of ultrasound diagnosis and clinical management.

 

In addition to the lecture programme and practical demonstrations, the course was also designed to encourage discussion and the exchange of views and experience within the group. This aspect of the day was much appreciated by delegates, who welcomed the opportunity to catch up with other sonographers and discuss work issues.

 

Lecture topics included a review of recent advances in transvaginal ultrasound imaging, and a review of causes, investigation and current management of abnormal uterine bleeding.  Ultrasound of the endometricum, together with gynaecological oncology and post menopausal studies was covered, together with the value of 3D transvaginal ultrasound in early pregnancy assessment and first trimester screening. Another topic explored current clinical trends in the investigation and treatment of recurrent miscarriage, together with a lecture on advanced 3D virtual imaging in reproductive gynaecology.

 

With positive feedback from all the delegates, one delegate commented, “I found the course extremely interesting and thought-provoking. I have never used 3D IV scanning and very little colour Doppler for gynae scanning, but can definitely see the benefits of using both. I have really enjoyed the day and have gained a lot of new information.”  A second delegate added “Excellent information conveyed at a good pace.  I have been given much food for thought to apply to my current working practice.”

 

 

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Lecturers, Canon staff and delegates attending “The increasing impact of ultrasound in general gynaecology and reproductive medicine – clinical and technical aspects” course at Bromsgrove

 

Canon Medical Systems has a carbon-zero project in place. We have calculated the carbon footprint for each of our products to include manufacturing, shipping, delivery and average hospital energy used for the standard lifetime of the equipment as follows:

Ultrasound equates to 1 stove and 3,415 litres of water

Three Shires

 

Imaging@Three Shires Hospital in Northampton, a joint partnership between BMI Three Shires Hospital, St Andrews Healthcare and Global Diagnostics, recently upgraded its existing 1.5T Canon MRI scanner to a Canon Vantage Titan 1.5T MRI system.

 

The Vantage Titan 1.5T is an ultra short and ultra wide bore system (71cm) for a more comfortable patient experience but without compromise to the large useable field of view and image quality. During the upgrade period, the clinic utilised Canon’s re-locatable Vantage Elan 1.5T as an interim solution to maintain its MRI service on site.

 

Helena White, MRI Lead Radiographer comments, “The wide bore is much more patient friendly allowing for reduced anxiety and better access for larger patients. We work closely with the professional sports teams in Northampton, in particular Northampton Saints Rugby, providing them with much of their imaging requirements, so this feature is particularly useful when scanning the larger players. We also now have an extended couch which enables 80% feet first scanning and again improves comfort for the taller sportsmen. The system has excellent field homogeneity and together with automatic shimming improvements, more robust fat saturation can be achieved in problematic areas. This, in conjunction with the new 16 channel flex coils, is paramount for our provision of high resolution, optimum MSK image production. MRI appointments are reserved for the Saints following match days. Our dedicated team of specialised consultant radiologists have full confidence in our image quality and using Global Diagnostics’ teleradiology RIS PACS system provide the medical team with an instant report.”  

 

In addition to its wide bore, other benefits of the new system include contrast free vascular imaging, wireless ECG and respiratory gating and ceiling routed cables to avoid floor obstacles around the gantry. With an extended scan range and Canon’s general purpose medium and large flex coils the Vantage Titan fully meets the demands of today’s challenging clinical environment.

 

Patient comfort is addressed with Canon’s patented Pianissimo technology, which dramatically reduces acoustic noise, a major cause of patient unease during an MRI scan.     In addition, Time-SLIP, Canon’s MR angiography technique does not require the use of contrast media.  It uses a Spatial Labelling Inversion Pulse that can be applied to many regions of the body and used for evaluating haemodynamic velocity, functional assessments and visualisation of vascular structures. Based on the Arterial Spin Labelling technique, it employs spatially non-selective IR pulses and spatially selective tag pulses, to reveal regions excited as bright or black blood.

 

Helena White goes on to say ‘Good partnership working is of paramount importance when planning and developing an ongoing MRI service provision, and this was a key factor in us continuing to trust in Canon, rather than opting for an alternative manufacturer. After a 10 year association, Canon have gained knowledge and understanding of our MRI clinical practices and workflows and their support in terms of service and applications is proven. Our MR radiographers are well practised in ‘Canon terminology’  and this was important for efficiency in the training process, both on the interim  Elan system and the upgraded Titan and MPower platform, thus causing minimum disruption to patient lead times during the process.

 

 

 

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Shown here (left to right), Dominic Bath, BMI Three Shires Hospital Director; David Sheehan, Global Diagnostics CEO; Jennifer Lingley, Out-patient Services Manager; Alex Waller, Prop, Northampton Saints Rugby Club; Helena White, Clinical Lead MRI Radiographer; Colin Pellow, Account Manager, CT/X-Ay/MRI & Connectivity, Canon Medical Systems, and Gil Baldwin, St. Andrew’s Healthcare CEO

 

 

Canon Medical Systems has a carbon-zero project in place. We have calculated the carbon footprint for each of our products to include manufacturing, shipping, delivery and average hospital energy used for the standard lifetime of the equipment as follows:

1.5T MR equates to 35 stoves and 141,598 litres of water