Dive Brief:

• Philips has launched an ultrasound system designed for cardiovascular applications.

• The system, EPIQ CVx, consists of a user interface tailored to cardiology workflows built on top of Philips’ general imaging platform.

• Philips is touting EPIQ CVx as a way for physicians to visualize the cardiovascular system more clearly and perform more robust and reproducible quantification.

Dive Insight:

Philips has sold its EPIQ ultrasound system in one form or another for several years. The device, like rivals such as GE Vivid, consists of a screen and control panel mounted on a cart that can be wheeled around. EPIQ CVx and EPIQ CVxi, a model designed for cath labs, use the same platform but feature capabilities tailored to the needs of cardiologists.

These cardiology-specific features include a workflow that Philips thinks enables physicians to spend less time looking for controls. When coupled to the ability to customize remote controls, the feature could free physicians to focus on the images generated by the system.   

Philips has also incorporated a feature it calls “Anatomically Intelligent Ultrasound,” or AIUS for short. In practice, this feature enables users to quantify the left ventricle. Philips introduced AIUS several years ago and has since expanded its capabilities to include additional 3D measurements, including left ventricular mass. Other disease-specific features include a mode for evaluating coronaries.

David Handler, general manager of cardiac ultrasound at Philips, thinks the new features will benefit time-pressured cardiologists.

“By using advanced 3D organ modeling, image slicing and proven quantification, anatomical intelligence is helping make ultrasound exams easier to perform and more reproducible,” Handler said in a statement. 

The cath lab variant of the device, EPIQ CVxi, integrates with Philips’ EchoNavigator. The integration enables interventional cardiologists to view fusions of live 3D transesophageal echocardiography and X-ray images on the device. Philips claims this combination makes it easier for cardiologists to guide their devices.

Elsewhere, both devices are the same as other products built on the EPIQ platform. Shared features include an OLED screen and a mode that displays high-definition images.

EPIQ CVx and EPIQ CVxi both have received FDA 510(k) clearance and CE marks.