Sentinelle Medical and Siemens AG Collaborating on Solutions for Interventional Prostate MRI
TORONTO, Nov. 30 /PRNewswire/ - Sentinelle Medical Inc., a leading manufacturer of breast MRI coils and software, and Siemens Healthcare today announced at the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) annual meeting in Chicago, that they are collaborating on the development of a suite of innovative solutions for Interventional Prostate MRI.
According to the American Cancer Society, Prostate cancer will affect close to 200,000 men and cause 27,000 deaths this year (2009) in the US. Current screening technologies are limited in their ability to reliably detect prostate cancer. Prostate MRI shows significant promise to address these challenges. However, initial offerings offer limited signal-to-noise ratios (SNR) coverage for the prostate, and current interventional solutions lack the ability to combine with internal imaging coils.
Sentinelle and Siemens are working together to develop solutions that will address the challenges clinicians currently face in the use of MRI for imaging, intervention and treatment of prostate cancer. These solutions will address image quality, ease and accuracy of intervention, patient experience and workflow efficiency - all critical elements in the widespread adoption of prostate MRI. Sentinelle will be demonstrating Works-In-Progress for Prostate interventional MRI coils at RSNA 2009 (Booth 5800, Hall A).
"Prostate imaging provides unique challenges for imaging and intervention. Siemens and Sentinelle are dedicated to delivering solutions that can be easily integrated into the clinicians workflow, and positively impact patient outcomes," said Cameron Piron, Sentinelle's President and CEO. "With our combined focus, we are confident that we can address these challenges and enable greater access to this important technology."
"MRI plays an important role in detecting prostate cancer. Our focus is to further develop innovative technologies that help improve patient care and healthcare efficiency," says Dr. Robert Krieg, Vice President Product Definition, Magnetic Resonance, Siemens Healthcare.
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 is the only company to offer 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 49,000 employees worldwide and operates in over 130 countries. In fiscal year 2008 (to September 30), the Sector posted revenue of 11.2 billion euros and profit of 1.2 billion euros. For further information please visit: www.siemens.com/healthcare.
About Sentinelle Medical Inc.
Sentinelle Medical is a leading manufacturer of MRI coils and 4D advanced visualization software, providing clinicians greater confidence in diagnosis and accuracy in intervention. The award winning Sentinelle Vanguard(R) breast coils for GE, Siemens and Toshiba MRIs provide excellent quality MR images, complete and open access for intervention, enhanced patient comfort and clinical workflow. Sentinelle's groundbreaking Aegis line of advanced 4D visualization software has been designed from the ground up to offer the clinician maximum control, and superior speed of interaction, within an intuitive and easy to use interface. Sentinelle's innovative product line also includes solutions for multimodality imaging, designed to solve the real world problems radiologists, technologists and oncologists encounter in their efforts for earlier detection and better treatment of cancer.
Sentinelle products are used in leading cancer and imaging centers throughout North America including Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Centre, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, Mountain Medical Physician Specialists, Radiology Ltd., Scripps Memorial Hospital, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, University Health Network and Windsong Radiology Group.
CONTACT: visit www.sentinellemedical.com; Media Contact, Ben Holton,
Sentinelle Medical Inc., (647) 258-3677