3/12/2001
For Immediate Release
HITACHI DELIVERS ADVANCED OPEN MRI SYSTEM TO A MEMBER OF NATIONALLY RENOWN HEALTHCARE ORGANIZATION
CONTACT:
Jeff Waldman
Missouri Baptist Medical Center
3015 N. Ballas Road
St. Louis, MO 63131
314.996.7572
jwaldman@bjc.org
Sheldon Schaffer
Hitachi Medical Systems America, Inc.
1959 Summit Commerce Park
Twinsburg, Ohio 44087
800.800.3106
330.425.1313 Ext. 5447
330.425.1410 FAX
info@hitachimed.com
www.hitachimed.com
Twinsburg, Ohio – March 12, 2001 – Hitachi Medical Systems America, Inc. (HMSA) announced that Missouri Baptist Medical Center, a 494 bed hospital in St. Louis, MO, has selected the company’s AIRIS®II high-performance Open MR imaging system as its first Open MR system. Installation of the advance medical imaging system has been completed.
Missouri Baptist Medical Center is part of BJC HealthCare, which is one of the largest non-profit healthcare organizations in the United States. BJC Healthcare’s twelve hospitals, five skilled nursing facilities, retirement community and nearly one hundred health centers deliver a comprehensive array of medical services in the greater St. Louis, southern Illinois and mid-Missouri regions. BJC HealthCare received the 1999 Quality Award from the National Committee for Quality Health Care. “We are very proud to have AIRIS II chosen as the first Open MR system at Missouri Baptist Medical Center and to be associated with the prestigious BJC HealthCare Organization,” stated Richard Ernst, President of HMSA.
According to Debra Repp, the MRI supervisor at Missouri Baptist Medical Center, “AIRIS II will provide us with the versatility we need to meet a demanding range of clinical requirements at Missouri Baptist Medical Center. Its high reliability and Hitachi’s long history of leadership in Open MR were also important considerations in making our decision. We are also excited about the future of AIRIS II’s high-performance imaging capabilities including EPI-based diffusion-weighted imaging and an advanced fat-water separation technique for Neurological and Orthopedic applications respectively.”
The AIRIS II premium performance Open MR imaging system features an award-winning “Open-Air” gantry that is open on all four sides for greater patient comfort and easy access. Its advanced permanent magnet design, powerful gradients and digital electronics combine to deliver excellent image quality over a wide range of imaging techniques.
Hitachi Medical Systems America, Inc. markets premium, high performance magnetic resonance (MR) imaging products of Hitachi Medical Corporation, Tokyo, Japan. These include the AIRIS and AIRIS II Open MR systems with advanced permanent magnet technology, and the new AltaireTM high-field performance Open MR system. HMSA has established itself as a major provider of magnetic resonance imaging systems with nearly 1000 systems installed throughout the United States and 2,000 worldwide. Since the company first popularized the concept of Open MR a decade ago, it has been the fastest growing segment of MR imaging.
