Dr Bernhard Gerber from University of Louvain, Belgium

The General Manager of Philips, Mr Desmond Chan delivers the opening address

Prof Peter C.M. van Zijl, Director of F.M. Kirby Research Centre for Functional Brain Imaging Kennedy Krieger Institute/John Hopkins University, Baltimore, USA

Dr Ronald Shnier, Director of St George MRI, National Director, Radiology Mayne Health, Australia

Dr Seung-Koo Lee, Asst Professor, Department of Radiology, Yonsei University, College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea

CoR member, Dr Francis Lau

by Dr Evelyn Ho

Philips Medical Systems organized a whole day seminar entitled “New Frontiers in Multi-slice CT & Advanced MRI Clinical Applications” on 16 March 2003. Speakers included Dr Bernhard L. Gerber from Belgium, Dr Seung-Koo Lee from Korea, Dr Steven Dymarkowski from Belgium, Dr Kathirkamanthan Shanmuganathan from USA, Prof Peter C.M. Van Zijl from USA and Dr Ronal Shnier from Australia.

Notice for the seminar was relatively short. It is hoped that future seminars will be arranged with the College of Radiology so that a larger segment of the Imaging and Radiology community can benefit from such a programme.

Q & A on the Philips Asia Pacific Lecture Tour Programme

Q: How long has this programme been in existence?

The Philips “road show” Asia Pacific lecture tour program first started in 2001 with only the MRI modality at that time. The first time the team did not visit our ASEAN countries. It was the second tour that the MRI team came to the ASEAN region, specifically Malaysia in March 2002. The event was held at in Penang with a live demonstration performed at the Penang General Hospital. This was a joint effort between the Penang General Hospital Radiology Department/Malaysian Radiological Society and Philips Medical Systems-Malaysia.

For this year’s seminar, March 2003, both CT and MRI were included in the lecture tour as the exercise to acquire Marconi Medical Systems had been completed.

Q: What are the main aims or reasons for Philips embarking on this programme?

• To share the knowledge across the globe. This is an opportunity for direct communication between world-class speakers and our local radiologists and/or relevant people. Further knowledge sharing or even future research cooperation may be possible.

• To strengthen belief in the Philips technologies - that they are real and practical and not complicated to use. Faster acquisition and better image quality all contribute to patient health care.

• To build up confidence for the Philips users so that they are able to achieve the same range and quality of examinations with their systems

• To give the opportunities to our local Philips users for the time when they are ready to join the lecture team  and tour ASPAC as a speaker.

Q: How does Philips Medical see itself as a contributor to CME in the radiology/imaging community?

Today technology in medical imaging is moving very fast. It is very important that everyone should stay up to date to know what is going on and what the over all benefits from it is. This is one area where Philips Medical Systems-Malaysia can contribute. For example, conducting a products and/or technology presentation or inviting a clinical lecturer in some events to share information with interested audience. We are happy to do it for our radiology and imaging society. A good cooperation can strengthen our society.

Q: What are the future plans of Philips Medical in keeping the Malaysian Radiology Community up to date with advances in Imaging?

Currently a number of Philips publications like Medica Mundi and FieldStrength, are being sent to some radiologists and/or institutes. Many new clinical applications or techniques are mentioned in the magazines. Such magazines and others can also be sent to the office of The College of Radiology for its members. Invitation of guest lecturers may bring a new and higher level of practice standards in imaging. This depends on the opportunity and time.

Q: Where does Philips Medical intend to focus its R & D on in Radiology / Cardioradiology / Neuroradiology?

In all of the above areas of imaging, Philips Medical Systems has imaging equipment. Philips Medical Systems has not only MRI and CT but also Cath Lab, X-ray Vascular, Ultrasound and Nuclear Medicine. Philips is a world leader in these categories of imaging equipment.

In Radiology, we wish to focus on how to make scans faster but with a lower radiation dose to the patient, yet maintaining image quality.

In Cardioradiology, shorter breath-holding or even free-breathing during scanning will be more comfortable for patients.

In Neuroradiology, more complicated imaging has emerged i.e. Diffusion Tensor imaging and Fiber Tracking.

These are only a few examples. In fact there are a lot more R&D going on for each modality.

Q: What are the recent technological Breakthroughs in Philips Medical Systems?

Here are some examples of the recent technology for MRI and CT modality.

# The ultra-high field short-bore 3.0T MRI system which has the same length (157 cm) as the 1.5T MRI system. SENSE (Sensitivity Encoding) factor 6 which provides six times faster acquisition is now possible in real clinical practice. The VectorCardioGram, 4-lead ECG system, provides virtually artifact-free ECG signal during scanning.

# In 16-slice CT system, the true Cone Beam Reconstruction Algorithm helps reduce artifacts in image reconstruction. TACH Technology at the detectors helps reduce the amount of X-ray being used for scanning. Cardiac CT Imaging enables clinicians to examine the cardiac anatomy and function, including visualisation of the coronary arteries. It is a non invasive technique and can be used to avoid invasive procedures in pre- and post operative assessments.

Q: What are the recent technological Breakthroughs in Philips Medical Systems?

Here are some examples of the recent technology for MRI and CT modality.

# The ultra-high field short-bore 3.0T MRI system which has the same length (157 cm) as the 1.5T MRI system. SENSE (Sensitivity Encoding) factor 6 which provides six times faster acquisition is now possible in real clinical practice. The VectorCardioGram, 4-lead ECG system, provides virtually artifact-free ECG signal during scanning.

# In 16-slice CT system, the true Cone Beam Reconstruction Algorithm helps reduce artifacts in image reconstruction. TACH Technology at the detectors helps reduce the amount of X-ray being used for scanning. Cardiac CT Imaging enables clinicians to examine the cardiac anatomy and function, including visualisation of the coronary arteries. It is a non invasive technique and can be used to avoid invasive procedures in pre- and post operative assessments.