Siemens and Steadman Hawkins take sports medicine imaging research to the next level

Published: 07/02

MALVERN, PA, and VAIL, CO, USA - (HealthTech Wire) - Siemens Healthcare and the Steadman Hawkins Research Foundation have formed a strategic alliance that will add 3 Tesla (T) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technology to the Foundation and allow its clinicians and researchers better access to advanced sports medical imaging.

“Imaging has become a vital part of sports medicine for diagnosis, treatment, and postoperative evaluation,” said J. Michael Egan, chief executive officer, Steadman•Hawkins Research Foundation (SHRF). “Patients from all over the world are treated at Steadman•Hawkins, and they return for an assessment of their progress. With this strategic alliance, we look forward to all of the new avenues in imaging research that we can explore.”

“With the strongest magnet field strength used clinically, the MAGNETOM® Verio can be used for many applications, including neurology and functional neuro evaluation, orthopedic and cartilage assessment, breast, vascular, and cardiac imaging,” said Walter Märzendorfer, chief executive officer, Magnetic Resonance, Siemens Healthcare. “We are especially honored to join with the Steadman•Hawkins Research Foundation to advance the field of orthopedic imaging and sports medicine research.”

Siemens MAGNETOM Verio is a 3T MRI system with a 70 cm open bore and Total imaging matrix (Tim™) technology, the only system on the market today that combines all of these attributes into one solution. The MAGNETOM Verio represents a new class of MRI technology that increases access to advanced diagnostic capabilities and delivers high-field imaging to many patients who could not benefit from the technology before.

Once the MAGNETOM Verio is installed at the Foundation, Steadman•Hawkins will use the data collected from it to test new software being developed specifically for orthopedic sports medicine and research being conducted in Vail. Researchers at the Foundation will then analyze the imaging data, compare it to their surgical data, and determine whether they can match the images with actual surgical observations.

For instance, researchers will be able to evaluate physiology of cartilage tissue and determine the health and regeneration of that tissue in a totally noninvasive way, before and after treatment. Until now, a doctor would look inside a joint and, perhaps, take a biopsy just to evaluate the results of an operation or to measure progress. If the patient happens to be an athlete, in many instances, it will be possible to determine the status of an injury without surgery and without keeping the player off the field until he or she recovers from the diagnostic procedure.

As the newest area of research at Steadman•Hawkins, Imaging Research joins the Foundation’s current departments: Basic Science Research, Clinical Research, and the Biomechanics Research Laboratory. All four departments will be integrated into the Foundation’s Education and Fellowship Program.

The MAGNETOM Verio is expected to be installed at the Vail Valley Medical Center (VVMC) by the end of 2008. The Steadman•Hawkins Clinic is teaming with SHRF to establish a new fellowship for sports medicine radiology, as well as developing specific clinical research programs for the hip, shoulder, and knee, in conjunction with Siemens.

The strategic alliance with the Steadman•Hawkins Research Foundation has been signed under Siemens U.S. healthcare entity, Siemens Medical Solutions USA, Inc.