Siemens Demonstrates New Methods of Cardiovascular Risk Assessment at the American Society of Echocardiography

Addressing the evolving needs of echocardiography, Siemens Medical Solutions Ultrasound Division (www.usa.siemens.com/medical ) will showcase its comprehensive cardiovascular risk assessment solutions at the 18th Annual Scientific Sessions of the American Society of Echocardiography (ASE),





The company’s syngo(R) Arterial Health Package (AHP) for cardiovascular risk assessment provides semi-automated quantification tools for users that help to assess and visually demonstrate the cardiovascular risk potential of patients using the concept of “Vascular Age.” According to the American Heart Association, one in three adults has some form of cardiovascular disease.* Despite increased awareness of standard risk factors (eg, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, smoking), lifestyle changes induced by knowing “Vascular Age” could further prevent a significant number of heart attacks and strokes. Prediction and prevention help people to minimize their cardiovascular risk rather than waiting for symptoms to develop.






Patient Education






With the syngo AHP application, which is available on the ACUSON Sequoia(TM) C512 echocardiography platform and the new ACUSON X300(TM) all-purpose ultrasound system, users can now perform a vascular age assessment.






The technique renders a combined risk score that includes factors such as a measurement of the carotid intima-media thickness, Framingham risk index assessment and comparison with the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) database. syngo AHP combines all of that information to estimate vascular age, enabling physicians to predict a person’s risk of coronary heart disease.






“Pathological studies have shown that the atherosclerotic burden is quite similar in the carotid and coronary arteries,” said John Davidson, senior marketing director for cardiovascular ultrasound at Siemens Medical Solutions, “It helps to measure a person’s preclinical risk. At the same time, it also serves as a visual aid to help patients understand the status of their vascular health. And that increasingly proves to be a valuable tool, especially when it comes to making lifestyle changes.”






The company will also highlight its other innovative risk-assessment tools, such as syngo Auto Ejection Fraction and syngo Velocity Vector Imaging(TM) technology. When combined, these new tools will automate workflow in the most acute environments, such as during cardiac resynchronization therapy and acute coronary syndrome assessment.






Hand-held Ultrasound






Siemens Medical Solutions will also be previewing its ACUSON P10 hand-held ultrasound unit at the ASE. The system is intended primarily for triage and screening applications in acute care settings. In the future, personal imaging tools such as this could improve the standard of care for inpatient monitoring, critical care, outpatient specialty visits and bedside exams.