Philips cardiovascular system will debut at RSNA show

By Brenda Tilke

Philips Medical Systems has introduced its newest cardiovascular system, the Integris Allura, as a successor to the existing V5000 and BV5000 systems.

"The Allura can be used for every combination of vascular, cardiovascular, neurovascular, and nonvascular interventional and diagnostic procedures," said Dirk-Jan Toet, international product manager for cardiovascular systems at Philips headquarters in Best, the Netherlands.

The driving force behind the system has been the rapid growth in minimally invasive procedures performed by interventional radiologists, cardiologists, and vascular surgeons. The Allura will be marketed across specialty lines and can also be combined in a single suite with other imaging modalities, including CT and ultrasound, to support specific interventions.

Among the design changes incorporated into the new system are improved patient access with a compact ceiling-mounted C-arm, a new patient-sensing system, elimination of the counterweight, and more automated movements. Allura has a rotation speed of 25º per second and an angulation speed of 18º per second, which Philips officials claim is the industry's fastest.

Three-dimensional applications are important features for the new system, Toet said, and Philips executives believe the system offers the best 3-D reconstruction package in the industry.

"With an integrated color monitor, you can display 3-D images in the control room to provide the physician with a reference image during the procedure," he said.

The new system complies with the latest DICOM standards. Using selected interfaces, images and data can be sent at high speed through a variety of DICOM formats to the PACS and RIS, including Philips' Inturis system. A separate workstation is not needed, Toet said. In addition, images can be viewed over the Internet with QuickTime (moving images) or VRML (3-D surface-modeled images).

The BodyGuard patient-sensing feature detects the presence of objects within a certain distance of the stand, automatically slowing and stopping before touching the patient. Incorporating the company's DoseWise features could cut the contrast dose by as much as 50% for some procedures, Toet said.

Philips' digital imaging systems are installed at more than 3500 institutions worldwide. The Integris equipment lineup also includes the Integris CV, the H5000 dedicated cardiac unit, and the BH500 biplane unit. Production of the V500 and BV5000 systems is slated to end in December.

Another new product that will be introduced at the RSNA meeting is the Vertix FD digital chest system, with a tilting amorphous silicon flat-panel detector and overhead tube suspension.

Philips will continue to sell its less-expensive Thoravision chest DR unit based on a rotating drum selenium detector and the Digital Diagnost flat-panel bucky system. Joining the trend to smaller CR products, Philips will also launch its Compact CR System to sell along with its high-end 5000 multisite CR reader.