Toshiba America Medical Systems Inc, Tustin, Calif, a developer of contrast-free magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) techniques, has introduced time and space angiography (TSA), a fourth generation contrast-free imaging technique.
TSA images reveal dynamic blood flow without using contrast agents, and feature high-temporal resolution and a continually changing inversion pulse time. The product builds on the time-spatial labeling inversion pulse technique, which benefits patients with compromised circulations and renal flow problems.
In patients with symptoms of stroke, TSA shows blood flow into the brain and clearly displays the area being impeded, serving as a noninvasive tool for physicians and neurologists. The technique is available on the company’s Vantage MR systems.
Company official Bob Giegerich noted the importance of establishing viable contrast-free techniques as more is known about the dangers of gadolinium-based contrast agents.
