Advanced Imaging Center Opens

Michael Salem, MD, President and CEO of National Jewish Health with Heinrich Kolem, PhD, President and CEO of Customer Solutions Group, SiemensMedical Solutions USA Inc.

National Jewish Health today officially launched its Institute for Advanced Biomedical Imaging^™ , bringing the most advanced imaging technologies to patients while establishing a platform for research to further improve imaging. National Jewish also unveiled its newest arrival, a 128-slice SOMATOM Definition AS+ CT scanner from Siemens, one of the first available in the country.

“The Institute for Advanced Biomedical Imaging^TM  is an integral part of our strategy to develop and lead the emerging field of personalized medicine,” said Michael Salem, MD, President and CEO of National Jewish. “When advanced imaging is coupled with clinical reference laboratories, we can achieve diagnostic results that drive more effective, personalized care. Siemens Medical Solutions shares our vision and will be a terrific and innovative partner in helping us turn this vision into a reality.

Heinrich Kolem, PhD, President and CEO of Customer Solutions Group, Siemens Medical Solutions USA Inc., joined Dr. Salem in cutting the ribbon to open the institute.

In February 2008 National Jewish and Siemens announced a strategic alliance to improve and develop novel imaging and diagnostic technologies using genomics, proteomics, and integrated research and clinical care. The Institute for Advanced Biomedical Imaging^TM  is a central component of that alliance. It houses a positron emission tomography-CT (PET-CT) system, a 1.5T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system, and two Siemens CT scanners.

The newest scanner is a 128-slice SOMATOM Definition AS+ CT scanner, which promises better resolution and shorter imaging time than previously available scanners. The shorter imaging time will allow better images of beating hearts and will also be appreciated by National Jewish patients whose respiratory problems make it difficult for them to hold their breath. The scanner has an open architecture, which allows imaging of obese patients; it is the only scanner that allows for 27 centimeters of whole organ perfusion coverage; and it limits radiation exposure by blocking radiation beyond the image field. The 128-slice scanner was officially approved for use by the US Food and Drug Administration this summer. National Jewish is one of the first institutions in the country to receive and operate this scanner.

National Jewish and Siemens also plan several collaborative research projects including efforts to improve imaging of the right heart, which pumps blood to the lungs, better detection of very small, potentially cancerous lung nodules, and techniques for reducing radiation exposure.