Vivid 7 Ultrasound: Your Heart in Four Dimensions!

North Country Hospital sonographers Bev Gage and Pauline Labor with Diagnostic Imaging Manager Pete Kelly are thrilled with the new 4D cardiovascular ultrasound system.

North Country Health System is pleased to announce that it has acquired a new, state-of-the art, cardiovascular ultrasound system that will create better images and allow for faster patient exams. The Vivid 7 Ultrasound system from General Electric provides the cardiac sonographer with new tools for detecting and diagnosing heart conditions such as heart failure in patients.

With the new system, sonographers Bev Gage and Pauline Labor, and Dr. Andrew Torkelson, North Country's cardiologist can obtain additional 4D information of the heart to further aid in the diagnosis. 4D is simply three-dimensional imaging displayed over time, or a moving 3-D image. When imaging the heart, it is important to see the structures of the heart in real time as the heart beats and the valves open and close. With this technology the physicians may more precisely detect and diagnose heart problems that they may not have been able to see before. This allows for an increase in diagnostic information obtained from each patient and provides new tools for detecting and diagnosing heart conditions such as heart failure.

The TruScan imaging platform component of the Vivid 7 Dimension allows ultrasound data to be digitally acquired and stored to preserve the data to be analyzed without losing any of the original image quality. This provides the physicians with more cardiac information about the heart's structure and function. The 4D display allows the physicians to see the entire heart at the same time. The Blood Flow Imaging feature allows the clinicians to assess the blood flow in vessels. The Automated Function Imaging feature allows a clear image of the left ventricle at rest. The new system is also more ergonomic than its predecessor, hopefully reducing the chance of repetitive stress injury the user. Another added capability with this new system is stress echo which the old system was incapable of doing. North Country Hospital has two cardiac stenographers who will be going to get additional training to better utilize the new advanced features of this system.

According to the American Heart Association, “The aging population will result in an increased incidence of chronic diseases, including coronary artery disease, heart failure, and stroke.”
The US Census estimates that there will be 40 million Americans age 65+ in 2010.

Nearly 2,500 Americans die of cardiovascular disease each day, an average of 1 death every 35 seconds.
Early diagnosis of heart-related illness is critical to the health and well-being of our community. North Country Health System is proud to be able to offer an ultrasound system that will both cut down on the length of the testing as well as provide immediate, thorough, accurate results.

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