As new treatments for Alzheimer’s disease make headlines, Siemens Healthineers reaffirms its longstanding commitment as a leading provider of diagnostic imaging solutions – from hardware to software to radiopharmaceuticals – for the assessment of this debilitating and deadly neurological disease.
Characterized by brain changes that result in a loss of neurons and their connections, Alzheimer’s disease affects memory and thinking skills, and can be fatal. It has no known cure. Siemens Healthineers was the first company to announce a comprehensive solution for imaging amyloid plaque, the presence of which is a prerequisite for diagnosing Alzheimer’s disease. This solution combines positron emission tomography (PET) radiopharmaceutical manufacturing and distribution with innovative hardware technologies and software for PET/computed tomography (CT) amyloid imaging. Siemens Healthineers also offers a comprehensive portfolio of MR scanners – including a hybrid PET/magnetic resonance (MR) scanner – that can help clinicians monitor some forms of Alzheimer’s disease treatment. Additionally, Siemens Healthineers offers MR neurology software that can help clinicians in the volumetric assessment of brain structures.
PETNET Solutions, Inc., a Siemens Healthineers company and the largest supplier of PET radiopharmaceuticals in the U.S., has a five-day-a-week production capacity of amyloid imaging radiopharmaceuticals at 20 of its 43 U.S. sites. The Biograph Vision PET/CT scanner¹ provides the market’s highest effective sensitivity² and high spatial resolution² to help make a quantifiable difference in the evaluation of amyloid plaque uptake. syngo.PET Amyloid Plaque software helps physicians assess amyloid uptake ratios (SUVr) in the PET scans of patients being evaluated for Alzheimer’s disease. The Biograph mMR PET/MR scanner permits simultaneous acquisition of co-registered MR and PET images with one examination. In the context of Alzheimer’s disease, the Biograph mMR can allow for PET’s use as an imaging biomarker while providing high-contrast, soft-tissue anatomical and functional brain images with MR. Finally, The AI-Rad Companion Brain MR for Morphometry Analysis software assistant automatically segments the brain in MRI images; measures the volume of gray matter, white matter, and cerebrospinal fluid in various segments of the brain; and compares the results to normal volumes.
“Siemens Healthineers is excited about the emerging treatments for Alzheimer’s disease, and we are proud to play a major role in providing clinicians with imaging tools to help them diagnose this disease as well as monitor some forms of treatment,” said Murat Gungor, Senior Vice President of Diagnostic Imaging at Siemens Healthineers North America.
Siemens Healthineers AG (listed in Frankfurt, Germany: SHL) is shaping the future of healthcare. As a leading medical technology company headquartered in Erlangen, Germany, Siemens Healthineers enables healthcare providers worldwide through its regional companies to increase value by empowering them on their journey towards expanding precision medicine, transforming care delivery, improving the patient experience, and digitalizing healthcare. Siemens Healthineers is continuously developing its product and service portfolio, with AI-supported applications and digital offerings that play an increasingly important role in the next generation of medical technology. These new applications will enhance the company’s foundation in in-vitro diagnostics, image-guided therapy, in-vivo diagnostics, and innovative cancer care. Siemens Healthineers also provides a range of services and solutions to enhance healthcare providers’ ability to provide high-quality, efficient care to patients. In fiscal 2020, which ended on September 30, 2020, Siemens Healthineers generated revenue of €14.5 billion and adjusted EBIT of €2.2 billion. Following the acquisition of Varian Medical Systems, Inc. the company has approximately 66,000 employees worldwide. Further information is available at www.siemens-healthineers.com.
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Phone: +484-868-8346; E-mail: jeffrey.t.bell@siemens-healthineers.com
