Syntermed - Software Solutions for Medical Imaging

Syntermed Product Editions

Syntermed's Emory Cardiac Toolbox (TM) is a software solution used in both small and large cardiology labs worldwide. The Toolbox provides physicians one tool that processes, displays, interprets, and analyzes cardiac PET and single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) studies. By displaying three-dimensional images of the patient's heart, the Toolbox allows physicians to see whether or not blood is flowing to all areas of the myocardium and determine the heart's efficiency.

The Emory Cardiac Toolbox™ application runs with minimal operator interaction. In most cases, the operator will only have to verify the myocardial boundaries and landmarks which have been automatically selected. The main processing window is displayed above. The top row shows mid-ventricular short-axis slice images. These are used to illustrate the location of the radial-search boundaries and LV Center. The middle row shows both mid-ventricular vertical and horizontal long-axis slice images. The vertical long-axis and horizontal long-axis reference images are used to illustrate the placement of the apical and basal slice selections. The bottom row displays short axis slices which correspond to the apical and basal slice selections identified in the middle row. Each of these landmarks can be manually adjusted by the operator.

Integrated Display. The above display demonstrates the Emory Cardiac Toolbox™ integrated display which includes the CEqual® quantitative perfusion output, the Emory Gated SPECT functional output, and selected tomograms demonstrating both perfusion (stress and rest) and function (end-diastole and end-systole). Functional parameters include % wall thickening, end diastolic and end systolic volumes, and ejection fraction. This Summary page can be printed or converted to a digital image that can be sent to the patient’s referring physician.

Volumes & EF Window. This display provides information and images related to LV function, wall motion and wall thickening. Contained on this screen is the LV Volume Curve and associated quantitative parameters, Cine Slice display of wall motion and thickening, and the Wall thickening analysis display. The endo and epi cardial myocardial boundary overlays can be displayed on the Wall Thickening display. This display provides sections which can be reviewed in cine mode in either 2D or 3D.

Gated Quality Control. The Emory Toolbox provides a proprietary feature called Gated Quality Control. This program provides an analysis of the patient’s gated study by plotting the curves of total counts versus projection for each gate. If the patient is exhibiting abnormal sinus rhythm then the curves will not be superimposed as displayed above. The program will provide advice as to which arrhythmia has been detected based on the curve display and a indicator light (green, yellow, or red) will notify the physician of the abnormal arrhythmia during interpretation.

PERFEX. This is an expert system developed from 461 patient studies, employing 253 heuristic rules and validated against 655 prospective patients. PERFEX represents an important diagnostic tool providing an expert opinion with justifications to the physician interpreting the patient’s myocardial perfusion study.

HeartFusion. This program is used to fuse a 3-dimensional myocardial map derived from a PET study with a 3-dimensional image of the coronary artery tree. This program is the only tool in the market integrating CT coronaries with Toolbox 3D displays. It also provides vessel cross sectional area.