Siemens 2012 Annual Report Download - page 32

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Tübingen University Hospital and Siemens have been cooperating for many
years to develop innovative imaging technologies. How would you describe
this partnership?
 . : It’s based on enormous trust, which has continually grown over the
years. We were one of the first university hospitals to conclude a cooperation agreement
with Siemens. Since then, we’ve tested many new Siemens products. The experts were
very skeptical at first about the leading-edge molecular MR process, but Siemens was
convinced that the new technology would succeed, and that conviction is paying off.
Which patients profit most from the Biograph mMR?
 . : Above all, this new system benefits children and young people
since radiation exposure during imaging is substantially lower than with conventional
exam methods. This is an enormous advantage since we have to monitor the effec tive-
ness of medications frequently, particularly with young patients, who are especially
sensitive to radiation.
What new insights do you expect to gain for research?
 . : It’s still too soon to foresee the full potential of this hybrid MRI
and PET technology. We have new therapy options and can now determine much earlier
which therapies are effective – in terms of treatment quality, this definitely represents
a big step forward. But it will certainly be years before we can measure this innovation’s
full impact on healthcare.
If you could make a wish, what would you want from Siemens for the next
generation of diagnostic imaging systems?
 . : Of course there are always things you can wish for – otherwise,
we’d stop dreaming. The ability to visualize functional and physiological processes in
living organisms is already an important advance. This was unimaginable just 20 years
ago. However, we’re still just at the beginning, and that’s why I’d like the reliability
of diag
nostics to increase even more in the future. But the first step has already been
taken.
And that’s a major milestone for imaging and healthcare in general.
 – The Siemens Biograph mMR
is prepared for the next exam.
We’re inviting more than  radiologists, nuclear
medicine experts and physicists from around the
world to a meeting in December  to discuss
their experiences with the Biograph mMR.
Innovative strength