TUSTIN, CA October 16, 2006 Highlighting its position as a leading provider of diagnostic imaging technologies, Toshiba America Medical Systems, Inc.'s Vantage 1.5T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system ranked first in a multichannel MRI performance report by KLAS Enterprises LLC. The Vantage received a score of 92 out of 100, the highest of all major vendors.

Toshiba led scoring in every performance and business indicator category, including enterprise commitment to technology and proactive service. In addition, respondents cited the Vantage's image quality and patient comfort as two primary reasons for recommending the system to a colleague.

"We are thrilled to be recognized by KLAS as the leader in MR performance," said Bob Giegerich, director of the MR Business Unit at Toshiba. "These results reinforce Toshiba as a leader in MR and are indicative of Toshiba's dedication to unmatched customer service. Our KLAS distinction in MR complements our already high overall vendor ratings in CT technology."


KLAS, a research and analyzing firm that monitors the performance of health information technology vendors and professional services firms, released the Multichannel MRI Performance Study on Sept. 27, 2006. Participants included clinics, imaging centers and hospitals ranging in size from one to 1,000 beds.

The KLAS results follow an August 2006 MD Buyline report, which demonstrated Toshiba's MR business unit has consistently performed above the industry average for almost two years.

The Vantage 1.5T MRI system reflects Toshiba's commitment to caring for patients and the physician's business. Combining exclusive patient comfort features and industry-leading homogeneity, this system offers the fast, comfortable exams patients appreciate and outstanding images physicians rely on. Vantage provides diagnostic confidence because its components work together well, providing quality healthcare.

The Vantage features one of the industry's shortest magnets at 140 cm with linear 30 mT/m gradient strength and a slew rate of 130 mT/m/ms for the Vantage CGV. Despite the short length of the magnet, the system delivers one of the highest magnet homogeneity in the industry within a full 50 cm diameter spherical volume. With Toshiba's patented Pianissimo technology, which effectively reduces acoustic noise by as much as 90 percent, the Vantage significantly reduces the most significant cause for patient discomfort and enables clinicians to better utilize the system's high-field MRI capabilities and SPEEDER parallel processing for increased image acquisition speed and reduced exam times.

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