Native TEQ Dynamic Technology for ACUSON Sequoia; 8V3 Transducer

From the press release by Siemens:

“Native TEQ adds a new and much wanted dimension to echocardiography by taking away the subjectivity and operator dependence in image acquisition,” said Manni A. Vannan, MBBS, FACC, professor of medicine, associate chief of cardiology, University of California at Irvine, Orange, Calif. “The ability to place a transducer on the chest wall and have the machine give you an optimal picture immediately is a significant advance in ultrasound imaging. Additionally, the optimization is in real-time and independent of where you are scanning, and it has the potential to reduce sonographer repetitive stress injury due to less hand motion on the keyboard.”

Siemens’ Native TEQ technology enables the ultrasound system’s computer to read the signals that are returning from the individual patient, and then automatically adjust the parameters while the operator is scanning, so all images are optimized in real-time and the sonographer or physician can scan freely without having to touch the keyboard. There are no gain or depth-gain-compensation (DGC) control adjustments needed while scanning. The computer is programmed to perform advanced real-time motion analysis in addition to accurately detecting and differentiating noise and artifacts from soft tissue. The image gain is automatically optimized in the axial and lateral dimensions in real-time, once the transducer touches the patient.

The company also showcased the new 8V3 transducer for the Sequoia system, which has been labeled the “workhorse” for pediatric cardiology because it provides excellent detail resolution, contrast resolution, near and far field image clarity, and color and spectral Doppler sensitivity in one transducer. The new transducer is based on the company’s proprietary Hanafy lens technology, providing continuous focusing and image uniformity, broader bandwidth and differentiation of near field structures with higher resolution.

“The 8V3 is the first probe that effectively provides high-quality imaging in a majority of pediatric patients – from neonates to adolescents,” said Peter C. Frommelt, M.D., FACC, associate professor of pediatric cardiology, Medical College of Wisconsin and director of pediatric echocardiography, Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, in Milwaukee. “The color Doppler sensitivity is excellent and can be very useful in identifying color Doppler flow patterns in coronary arteries in children and adolescents, which has become an important part of the routine pediatric echo exam. The image detail is also excellent in infants and small children using the native frequencies, and the addition of five and six MHz harmonic imaging allows continued high-quality imaging and penetration in older children, adolescents and adults.”