D-THI Deepens Ultrasound’s View
Ultrasound imaging of bariatric patients is often hampered by the limits of the modality’s depth penetration. In some cases, larger patients cannot be imaged using the technology because of image-quality issues. Cassie Murvay is an ultrasound product manager for Toshiba America Medical Systems, Inc. in Tustin, Calif. She explains, “Ultrasound penetration depends on the frequency of the signal you’re sending from the transducer. In order to penetrate deeper, you have to go to a lower frequency, but in order to get that, you sacrifice resolution and clarity.”
To solve the frequency problem, Toshiba developed Differential Tissue Harmonic Imaging (D-THI), a proprietary technique designed to better penetrate dense tissue. D-THI, which is available on the company’s Aplio™ XG and Xario™ XG ultrasound systems, sends a single signal consisting of two pulses—one at a low frequency and one at a high frequency.
“The two pulses give the penetration without losing the resolution,” Murvay says, “so on larger, technically difficult patients, we can penetrate all the way through the liver, for example, and still have the resolution necessary for the diagnosis.”
D-THI works by using enhanced effective bandwidth to capture the images. “This technology is ideal for use on any patient who is large or difficult to image,” Murvay notes. “A lot of vascular imaging is done on diabetic patients, and D-THI can help penetrate large, edematous legs to get the vascular images needed. It’s also beneficial in imaging dense livers, kidneys, pancreas—really, any abdominal imaging on bariatric patients can benefit from D-THI.”
Using D-THI is faster than taking multiple images at a lower degree of depth coverage, and it easily accommodates bariatric patients who might otherwise require a different piece of equipment for scanning, improving throughput and saving imaging centers time and money. “It’s a lifesaver for our customers who deal with bariatric patients,” Murvay says.
Tags: bariatric, Medical Imaging, patient comfort, Ultrasound
Category: Medical Imaging —