Aurora St Luke’s Medical Center (Milwaukee, USA), a national leader in heart and vascular care, has become the first hospital in the world to use 4D ultrasound software, designed by GE Healthcare, to evaluate heart conditions. A GE Healthcare press release reports that the software enables healthcare professionals to see “with life-like clarity” the chambers, valves, vessels, and other intricate structures of the heart in 4D.
The press reports that the software—“cSound”—relies on software and algorithms developed for different patient types and procedures and, therefore, may be able to produce more detailed images of the heart and help support physicians in diagnosing patients. Therefore, “this vividly accurate view of the heart in motion” may help physicians make confident diagnoses and help reduce the up to 2.7 times additional cost for invasive follow up tests on a patient.
According to the press release, the secret behind the software is its ability to collect a potentially infinite amount of data from the patient and select pixel-by-pixel precise information to use in generating the image, all inside a machine that is portable and has no ionising radiation.
Bijoy Khandheria, a cardiologist at Aurora St Luke’s Medical Center, says: “We treat some of the most complex heart conditions, and having access to best-in-class technology that can help deliver excellent patient care is important. We believe the new cSound technology from GE Healthcare can help us efficiently and accurately diagnose and develop treatment plans for people suffering from heart failure conditions.”
