Clarify™ Vascular Enhancement Technology

White Paper Clarify Vascular Enhancement Technology Rodney Boleyn, M.S.; Qinglin Ma, Ph.D. and Tommy Wong, Siemens Healthineers SIEMENS siemens.com/ultrasound | HOOD05162002859114 | Effective Date: 05.08.2018 Healthineers White Paper | Clarify Vascular Enhancement Technology Introduction The Challenges of Conventional Imaging While advances in medical ultrasound imaging are Clarify VE technology was developed to resolve four typically developed to solve specific clinical or workflow specific clinical issues inherent in conventional ultrasound challenges, they can also open new windows of clinical imaging: opportunity for greater diagnostic confidence. 1. Vessels frequently filled with artifacts For example, B-mode imaging is invaluable in providing generated by partial volume averaging effects due to tissue information (anatomy). Color flow, power Doppler sound beam slice thickness, thermal noise, grating lobes and spectral Doppler revolutionized ultrasound by and multi-reverberations from other highly reflective revealing blood flow and vascular information structures. (physiology of flow). Typically, when these modes are used in combination, the clinician is presented with a 2. Poorly defined boundaries within major vessels more complete diagnostic picture than that provided such as the intimal lining, atherosclerotic plaque and by either modality alone. thrombus. The partial volume effect, reverberations, grating lobes and thermal noise can obscure pathology Today, Clarify™ vascular enhancement technology can and vessel boundaries in a B-mode image. optimize the image by enhancing the B-mode display with information derived from power Doppler, clearly 3. Poor visualization of small vascular structures in a differentiating vascular anatomy from acoustic artifacts B-mode image. and surrounding tissue. As a result, Clarify VE technology Power flow imaging is now the standard method for visu- significantly improves tissue imaging, while minimizing alizing flow inside the small vessels within the thyroid, the number of keystrokes necessary to obtain this testis and kidney, all of which contain vessels that can improved level of performance. be challenging to image in B-mode. The resolution of con- ventional Power flow mode is inherently poorer than By reducing keystrokes, Clarify VE technology is an B-mode, so the structure or anatomy of small vessels can- exam accelerator, and therefore has the potential to not be visualized as clearly using the Power flow reduce repetitive stress injuries. Clarify VE technology mode only. brings a new level of definition and confidence to conventional 2D vascular imaging, enhancing the 4. Limited contrast resolution in structures with similar diagnostic information and providing exceptional echogeneity. workflow. Traditional B-mode imaging often does not show changes in grayscale parenchyma where anatomical regions are differently perfused. Figure 1: With a unique algorithm that selectively utilizes B-mode and power Doppler information, Clarify VE technology can dramatically improve visualization in both the macro- and microvasculature. 2 siemens.com/ultrasound | HOOD05162002859114 | Effective Date: 05.08.2018 White Paper | Clarify Vascular Enhancement Technology Addressing the Conclusion Challenges In practical terms, Clarify VE technology enables an Through a unique and highly innovative application of advanced level of tissue/flow differentiation, with the real-time, adaptive, pixel-by-pixel analysis of B-mode results applied toward enhancement of the B-mode image. and power Doppler information, Clarify VE technology: Clarify VE technology does so through real-time, pixel- Reduces artifacts frequently seen in vessels and fetal • by-pixel analysis using data from both B-mode and flow images in an intelligent, nonlinear way (see Figure 1). heart chambers Clarify VE technology is adaptive to the strength of the Improves boundary detection in vessels • flow signal and is optimized according to various exam • types. In nonvascular regions, the B-mode image remains Improves contrast resolution within an organ and unchanged. Where macro or micro-vascularity is present, between organs Clarify VE technology incorporates information from Dramatically improves visualization of micro- and • power Doppler into the B-mode display. Microvasculature For large vessels, Clarify VE technology is adapted to the With a single keystroke, vascular structures are instantly strong flows. For example, inside a carotid, noisy B-mode optimized, eliminating the need to adjust multiple pixel values are suppressed, resulting in a clean flow parameters. By doing so, it offers the clinician an channel. Normal vessel boundaries or pathologies, such important new platform for heightened diagnostic as plaque, are preserved by Clarify VE technology with confidence and patient care. unobscured and well-defined edges. Regions such as calci- fied tissues without flow remain unchanged. Clarify VE technology can also aid in the detection of easily missed, hypoechoic soft tissue plaque by clearing clutter within the flow channel. Clarify VE technology exhibits varying degrees of contrast resolution enhancement dependent on the level of tissue perfusion. For example, a highly perfused organ such as the kidney will demonstrate a greater level of contrast enhancement than an organ of less perfusion such as the liver. This is accomplished by modifying the pixels of the kidney to be darker (or more highly vascular) than those of the liver. Clarify vascular enhancement (VE) technology Pancreas . Upper Abdomen CIANTy 1:44:32 PM 6/13/2017 Pesoericr TiBial Vessels Curry Poplineal Vessel,21 PM 6/13/2017 Figure 2: (8C3HD Pancreas) Figure 3: 9L4 Post Tibial Vessels Figure 4: 9L4 Popliteal Vessels Figure 2 shows improved contrast These post tibial vessels show resolution in a pancreas with Clarify improved contrast resolution com- VE technology. pared to standard B-mode imaging. Note the superior delineation of he small vascular structures and tissue contrast within Clarify VE technolo- gy's region of interest (ROI) compared to the area outside of the ROI. siemens.com/ultrasound | HOOD05162002859114 | Effective Date: 05.08.2018 3 On account of certain regional limitations of sales rights Siemens Healthineers reserves the right to modify the and service availability, we cannot guarantee that all design, packaging, specifications, and options described products included in this brochure are available through herein without prior notice. Please contact your local the Siemens sales organization worldwide. Availability Siemens sales representative for the most current and packaging may vary by country and is subject to information. change without prior notice. Some/All of the features and products described herein may not be available in the Note: Any technical data contained in this document United States. may vary within defined tolerances. Original images always lose a certain amount of detail when reproduced. The information in this document contains general technical descriptions of specifications and options as Clarify is a trademark of Siemens Medical Solutions USA, well as standard and optional features, which do not Inc. always have to be present in individual cases. Siemens Healthineers Headquarters Legal Manufacturer Siemens Healthcare GmbH Siemens Medical Solutions USA, Inc. Henkestr. 127 Ultrasound 91052 Erlangen, Germany 685 East Middlefield Road Phone: +49 9131 84-0 Mountain View, CA 94043 siemens-healthineers.com USA Published by Siemens Healthcare GmbH · Order No. A91US-522-1C-4A00 · online · 5590 0318 · © Siemens Medical Solutions USA, Inc., 2018 HOOD05162002859114 · Effective Date: 05.08.2018