TeraRecon Announces Aquarius Tools for Advanced Breast MRI Analysis

SAN MATEO, CA -- (MARKET WIRE) -- May 1, 2007 -- TeraRecon (www.terarecon.com), a leader in advanced image processing technology and solutions, announced the availability of time-intensity analysis tools for Breast MRI studies as a standard feature on its industry-leading AquariusNET thin-client server, with advanced pre-processing options available for the recently introduced AquariusAPS server.

The American Cancer Society (ACS) has recently announced new cancer screening guidelines for women at different defined levels of risk of developing breast cancer (1). According to the ACS statement, screening MRI is recommended for women with an approximately 20-25% or greater lifetime risk of breast cancer, including women with a strong family history of breast or ovarian cancer and women who were treated for Hodgkin disease.

"The recent ACS statement underscores the need for efficient and widely accessible evaluation tools for breast MRI," stated Robert Taylor, Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President of TeraRecon. "Most of the tools used by physicians today produce a limited set of views of the anatomy, whereas AquariusNET provides a fully volumetric review environment supporting any oblique plane, and its tools are available enterprise-wide. AquariusNET's standard tools already offer a powerful feature set for Breast MRI management, and with the simple addition of the AquariusAPS server and its Parametric Maps module, women's imaging centers and radiology departments can increase efficiency at a highly competitive price compared to other solutions available in the marketplace."

When using the AquariusNET software, Regions of Interest (ROIs) can be defined and plots generated showing time-dependent behavior. For a scan where a lesion enhances and then de-enhances over time, the analysis tool plots a curve showing the characteristics of temporal behavior in that ROI. When using AquariusAPS, the optional "Parametric Maps" module can be automatically applied to datasets to obtain automatic registration and subtraction of the data, followed by color-map encoding of each pixel according to its temporal behavior. This color overlay can assist physicians in assessing tissue characteristics at a glance. Physicians can import, access, and display these large multi-phase datasets from regular PCs using the AquariusNET thin-client software. The software can display breast MRI studies in a fully volumetric view in any oblique plane desired as well as side-by-side, multi-phase, and 4D double oblique views with localized measurement capabilities. With this import and display feature, outside examinations on digital media from any institution can be easily compared.

Breast MRI examinations frequently have a large number of images that need to be organized for efficient interpretation. Accurate assessment of tumor morphology, location, and size requires the use of multiplanar reconstruction (MPR), maximum intensity projection imaging (MIP), and subtraction techniques for a complete description of tumor characteristics. Prior exams may contain hundreds of images, sometimes using different imaging techniques, and side-by-side comparison of images is necessary for accurate interpretation.

In a clinical case study article (Clinical Case Studies in the Third Dimension, Volume 2, 2006, TeraRecon, Inc, available for download free of charge (2)), Dr. Bernadette Redd from X-Ray Associates of Santa Fe NM, describes the principles of breast MRI interpretation and tumor analysis using the AquariusNET software.

About TeraRecon

TeraRecon is a technology-driven provider of advanced imaging systems and solutions for industrial, medical and dental applications, with solutions based on its unique and patented image processing technologies. The company has developed a leading portfolio of products that advance the performance, quality, functionality, and integration of image processing and 3D visualization systems. Founded in 1997, TeraRecon has developed a unique family of powerful processors that are used in its real time diagnostic workstations, network-attached streaming servers, high performance reconstruction engines, and real time volume rendering hardware engines. TeraRecon is a fast growing, privately held company with headquarters in San Mateo, CA, and branch offices in Concord, MA, Tokyo, Japan, Osaka, Japan, and Trondheim, Norway.

(1) http://caonline.amcancersoc.org/cgi/content/full/57/2/75#T1

(2) http://www.terarecon.com/downloads/news/clinical_case_studies_v2/casestudy_Redd-BreastMRI.pdf

Contact Information: Contact: TeraRecon, Inc. Robert Taylor, Ph.D. COO & Executive VP 650/372-1100 Email Contact www.terarecon.com