Royal Philips is unveiling two new cardiology ultrasound systems, tailored to meet the unique needs of general practitioners and interventionalists in the cath lab.

Equipped with anatomical intelligence, the EPIQ CVx cardiovascular system provides clinicians with sharper images for greater diagnostic confidence and simplified workflow, reducing the need for repeat scans and increasing the time they spend with patients. The EPIQ CVxi solution combines live ultrasound and X-ray information into one intuitive view, enabling interventional cardiologists to oversee both procedures and the location of key anatomical structures simultaneously.

"As pressures on healthcare systems around the world continue to increase, cardiologists have more patients to examine in less time,” David Handler, general manager of cardiac ultrasound at Philips, said in a statement. “By using advanced 3D organ modeling, image slicing, and proven quantification, anatomical intelligence is helping make ultrasound exams easier to perform and more reproducible.”

When evaluated, ninety-five percent in a group of clinicians claimed to see sharper and clearer images with the use of EPIQ CVx.

The addition of anatomical intelligence enhances the processing power of the system and enables it to produce high-quality images that appear as photorealistic renderings of the heart with Philips proprietary advanced 3D ultrasound display method, TrueVue.

The integration of the virtual light source solution offers detailed tissue and depth perception imaging through the latest generation OLED monitor, creating a more dynamic, wide viewing angle for side-to-side image comparison. When combined with the new OLED monitor, TrueVue provides greater confidence in care for all patients, including for children, whose small hearts can be challenging to image.

Another feature is the Dynamic Heart Model, based on Philips’ HeartModel platform, which utilizes anatomical intelligence to automatically quantify left ventricle function to produce a multi-beat analysis for adult patients. It also has been shown to reduce by 83 percent the amount of time for generating a 3D Ejection Fraction for blood pumping measurements.

In addition, the design features a new, single-crystal technology S9-2 PureWave Transducer, designed to provide high level detail and contrast resolution to simplify pediatric cardiac exams; a cardiology-specific user interface with a user-configurable touch-screen interface for personalized control and improved workflow; and strong security capabilities and protocols.

The EPIQ CVxi platform is designed specifically for cath labs and utilizes Philips’ EchoNavigator system to combine live ultrasound imaging and X-ray information into one intuitive view. The use of this function enables interventional cardiologists to simultaneously oversee procedures and the location of key anatomical structures.

EchoNavigator also streamlines communication between interventional cardiologists and echocardiographers during complex interventional procedures, in which clinicians can view multiple and flexible sites at once with the 3D capabilities of Philips’ MultiVue monitor technology.

"With the EPIQ CVx and its cardiology-centric design, clinicians can perform fast exams with enhanced diagnostic information,” said Handler. “The EPIQ CVxi is our third-generation integrated ultrasound-angiography cath lab solution for real-time, workflow-optimized image guidance and advanced quantification for structural heart procedures."

The systems are CE marked and FDA cleared and will be on display from Aug. 25-29 at the 2018 European Society of Cardiology at the Messe in Munich, Germany.