Canon Ultrasound Introduces new Xario™ at MEDICA 2013

Smaller, Smarter, Simpler
“Xario 200 and Xario 100 are designed to provide top performance in a small package”, says Marcel Boschker, Product Manager of the Xario line in Europe, “together with our Japanese engineers we were listening very carefully to our customers and their demands to meet the challenges of today’s healthcare environment”. Dr. Horst Kinkel, Deputy Chief of the Clinic for Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Diabetology, Düren Hospital, Germany, confirms ”The Xario excels in consistent top image quality, versatility, flexible workflow, and is very mobile to move within the departments, and within the hospital. I immediately recognized the diagnostic potential and the ease-of-use of this machine. To phrase it a bit more emotionally: I almost felt like being kissed by the Xario”. Xario 100 is covering a wide range of basic applications including Cardiovascular and 3D/4D imaging, with excellent image quality, Xario 200 can be equipped with advanced applications such as the Contrast Enhanced Ultrasound (CEUS) imaging package and the Elastography package. “The CEUS exams that I did on the system were very convincing”, Dr. Kinkel says, “the quality came very close to that of the premium class”.

Image Quality – Advanced Imaging Enhancement Technologies
“Since Xario is built on High Density Imaging architecture we were able to migrate almost all imaging enhancement technologies we developed for the Aplio™ class to the new Xario platform, such as Precision Imaging, ApliPure™+, Advanced Dynamic Flow™ (ADF), and even Differential Tissue Harmonic Imaging, a Canon proprietary wideband technology that provides deep penetration capability and brilliant resolution at the same time”, Kazufumi Ishiyama, General Manager of Canon Global Ultrasound Business, explains, “our engineers make no compromise when it comes to confirm Canon’s reputation for providing outstanding image quality. We want to enable our customers to see more and make better diagnostics also with the Xario”.

Perfect transducers for perfect diagnostics
Xario comes with a range of a new type of wide bandwidth transducers from standard models to specialty probes to deliver superb image quality. “The transducers are very lightweight and feel very easy to handle, with very flexible cables”, Dr. Kinkel confirms, “transducers have a major impact on the image quality that I can obtain and on the way I perform my exams. This is so important for a “workhorse” like the Xario – and in the end it is the patient who benefits most when the exams can be performed smoothly and quickly in the hands of a sonographer who is in harmony with the ultrasound system”.

Reduced keystrokes, shorter exam times
The Xario comes with a fully customizable console. Xario 200 even offers a touch-command-screen to program the system settings and access a wide range of applications and exam types pre-programmed into the system very intuitively and quickly. With Canon’s QuickScan technology available on Xario200 and Xario100 the user can optimize the imaging parameters with a single push of a button for all transducers and application protocols at any time during the exam.

Versatility in every aspect
The Xario can be equipped with dedicated features and options to tailor the system to various clinical specialties. Dr. Rainer Bald, head of the obstetrics department of the Klinikum in Leverkusen, Germany, has worked with the OB/GYN options on the Xario. “The image quality for fetal diagnostics is amazing and comes very close to the Aplio. Advanced Dynamic Flow on the Xario is a very strong feature to enhance Color Doppler Imaging, it helps me a lot in the diagnostics of the fetal heart”, Dr. Bald says.

For cardiovascular applications the Xario comes with a smart on-board reporting functionality, flexible M-Mode, an optional stress-echo program, and Tissue Enhancement function. Dr. Regina Steringer-Mascherbauer head of the Pulmonal Hypertension Department, Clinic for Angiology and Intensive Care at the Elisabethinen Hospital in Linz, Austria, who has been working with these features, explains “The images are brilliant, Tissue Enhancement works very reliable to push the B-mode image quality to the highest level. Pulse-Wave, Continuous-Wave, and Color-Doppler performance is very competitive. I like in particular the presets and sub-presets on the system to be able to start with optimal settings of the system for every patient. This saves me a lot of time during the exams.”

Important growing customer segment
“We position the Xario into the higher-mid range segment, just below the premium-high segment of the Aplio series. This is a very important and fast growing customer segment we want to address. The great success of the new Aplio platform that was introduced in autumn 2011, and the enormous potential of the new Xario introduced now, gives us strong confidence that we can continue and even accelerate our growth strategy in our markets”, says Dr. Christoph Simm, Ultrasound Business Manager of Canon Medical Systems Europe.

About Canon Medical Systems
With headquarters in Zoetermeer, The Netherlands, Canon Medical Systems markets, sells, distributes and services diagnostic imaging systems, and coordinates clinical diagnostic imaging research for all modalities in Europe. For more information please visit hqeu.tmse.nl

About Canon Medical Systems Corporation
Canon Medical Systems Corporation is a leading worldwide provider of medical diagnostic imaging systems and comprehensive medical solutions, such as CT, X-ray and vascular, ultrasound, nuclear medicine, and MRI systems, as well as information systems for medical institutions. Canon Medical Systems Corporation has been providing medical products for over 80 years. Canon Medical Systems Corporation is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Canon. Visit Canon Medical Systems Corporation’s web site at www.toshibamedicalsystems.com

About Canon
Canon is a world-leading diversified manufacturer, solutions provider and marketer of advanced electronic and electrical products and systems. Canon Group brings innovation and imagination to a wide range of businesses: digital products, including LCD TVs, notebook PCs, retail solutions and MFPs; electronic devices, including semiconductors, storage products and materials; industrial and social infrastructure systems, including power generation systems, smart community solutions, medical systems and escalators & elevators; and home appliances.
Canon was founded in 1875, and today operates a global network of more than 550 consolidated companies, with 202,000 employees worldwide and annual sales surpassing 6.1 trillion yen (US$74 billion). Visit Canon’s web site atwww.toshiba.co.jp/index.htm
Xario, ApliPure, Dynamic Flow and Aplio are trademarks of Canon Medical Systems Corporation.