Philips Introduces Workflow Enhancements to Ultrasound Systems

Royal Philips introduced new automated tools and a common user interface coupled with transducer compatibility across Philips ultrasound systems, including the EPIQ Elite, Affiniti and the Compact Ultrasound 5000 Series. These latest advances are demonstrating a positive impact on patient and staff satisfaction with customers worldwide by helping to improve workflow and provide greater scanning efficiency.

“At the University of Washington Medical Center, we have multiple locations where we do a wide range of ultrasounds, from general imaging and obstetrics to abdominal, where our sonographers perform as many as 150-170 ultrasound exams in a typical a day,” said Dr. Manjiri Dighe, MD, Medical Director of Ultrasound and Adjunct Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Washington Department of Radiology, Seattle, USA. “Using the latest advances from Philips Ultrasound like the next generation Flow Viewer and MVI Super Resolution CEUS, it’s easier for me to have increased confidence in my diagnosis and ultimately help my patients get better and faster treatment options. To help us better manage a very heavy throughput of patients, the next generation Auto Scan Assistant also helps the sonographer optimize the image, while reducing the number of keystrokes by more than 50% which has greatly improved our staff satisfaction and the quality of our exams.”

“Our next generation ultrasound systems EPIQ and Affiniti address the challenges healthcare systems face every day in dealing with more patients with more complex conditions while enhancing operational efficiency and reducing costs,” said Jeff Cohen, General Manager of Ultrasound at Philips. “By providing a consistent platform across our systems, and continually improving workflow, we’re able to give clinicians more time to focus on what they do best: caring for their patients.”

New features and major enhancements incorporated in Philips’ latest ultrasound systems driving advanced visualization and efficiency include:

• Contrast-enhanced ultrasound: EPIQ Elite’s enhanced super-resolution MVI, available only from Philips, offers an improvement of more than 200% in spatial resolution for contrast-enhanced Ultrasound to help provide valuable information about the pattern of blood flow in lesion characterization.
• Ultra-high frequency transducer: Philips’ new award-winning mL26-8 ultra-high frequency transducer for the EPIQ platform improves spatial resolution by 36% and improves penetration by 64% improvement over the previous transducers.
• 3D-like vascular flow advanced imaging: Flow Viewer, Philips’ latest innovation in color flow Doppler imaging, generates a 3D-like image of blood flow in vessels that can enhance decision-making in challenging cases.
• Fast, quality advanced image acquisition: Philips’ next-generation Auto SCAN Assistant enhances user workflow efficiency to acquire high-quality images with a 54% reduction in button pushes during an exam, automatically optimizing the image on a pixel-by-pixel basis.
• Expanded tele-ultrasound capability: Philips Ultrasound Collaboration Live now allows up to six users to collaborate in real-time during an ultrasound exam, potentially reducing the need for follow-up scans and additional patient travel.