Vital Images, Inc. (Nasdaq:VTAL), a leading provider of advanced visualization and analysis software, announced today that it is collaborating with Arkansas Children's Hospital of Little Rock, Ark., to develop a Vitrea® pediatric cardiac application. The software is an advanced visualization tool designed specifically to meet the unique cardiac features and patient care requirements presented by pediatric patients. Vital Images will demonstrate the new application at The Society for Pediatric Radiology 2010 Annual Meeting, April 13-17, in Boston as a work in progress.
"Capturing images of hearts in infants and children is especially challenging, because their hearts are small and beat faster. In addition, they often require sedation to stay still for an exam," said Dr. Bruce Greenberg. "With the youngest patients, speed is essential to obtain the sharp 3D and 4D images that show structural abnormalities and shorten exam times in order to reduce exposure to radiation – a significant safety factor. We look forward to working with Vital Images to develop a Vitrea application that expedites the analysis of pediatric cases at Arkansas Children's Hospital and eventually at other institutions worldwide."
Currently, advanced visualization software designed for adults is utilized to analyze pediatric patients. The ability to obtain 3D and 4D images specifically for pediatric patients will ultimately provide pediatric radiologists with more specialized tools to improve patient outcomes. The Vitrea® software from Vital Images is the most widely-used advanced visualization software in the world, serving patients at over 4,000 hospitals in more than 80 countries. Vital Images co-developed this application in collaboration with Toshiba, a strategic partner since 1999, leveraging the Aquilion®ONECT scanner which is used by Arkansas Children's Hospital.
"This collaboration with Arkansas Children's Hospital builds on both our cardiac application and our ongoing technology development partnership with Toshiba," said Vikram Simha, chief technology officer at Vital Images. "We are excited about working with Dr. Greenberg and Arkansas Children's Hospital to develop our Vitrea application to help cardiologists and radiologists analyze pediatric cardiac conditions more effectively and efficiently. Our goal is to bring our high-performance solutions to physicians and patients throughout the healthcare enterprise, and this is a strong example."
Vital Images plans to launch the Vitrea® Pediatric Cardiac application in mid-2010.
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