Frimley, 2013-Jul-25
Siemens Healthcare, a provider of imaging and radiopharmaceutical agents for Alzheimer’s, welcomes the news that a G8 dementia summit will be held in London later this year.
Siemens Healthcare has welcomed the news that a G8 dementia summit will be hosted by the UK in September this year, paving the way for an international agenda on dementia research. Siemens is pleased to support efforts to improve dementia diagnosis rates with the first commercial doses of Eli Lilly and Company’s AmyvidTM agent also due to begin in the UK this summer. This radiopharmaceutical agent will join Siemens’ existing innovative systems and applications for PET imaging used in the diagnosis and treatment of dementia.
“Alzheimer’s disease is a growing global healthcare epidemic and a major problem in our ageing population,” states Lawrence Foulsham, Molecular Imaging Product Manager at Siemens Healthcare. “We welcome the news that dementia research will be pushed up the global agenda at the London summit. Our aim is to support healthcare providers with our established PET imaging solutions and upcoming radiopharmaceutical agent that can identify cognitive indications at a much earlier stage, and could significantly contribute towards early detection of the disease.”
Amyvid (Florbetapir (18F)) is produced by Siemens’ PETNET Solutions and is a diagnostic radiopharmaceutical indicator for PET imaging of beta-amyloid neuritic plaque density in the brains of patients with cognitive impairment who are being evaluated for Alzheimer's disease and other causes of cognitive impairment.
A comprehensive imaging solution for enhanced dementia diagnosis includes the Biograph™ mCT, a fully integrated PET-CT system that enables precise quantification and localisation of amyloid. The system offers an excellent volumetric resolution and imaging matrix with tiny voxel volumes of 87mm3 for the highest possible image quality. The Biograph mCT is supported by applications designed for the study of Alzheimer’s including syngo®.PET Amyloid Plaque quantification. The application enables qualitative as well as quantitative assessment of amyloid PET brain studies, enhancing diagnosis with relevant, easy-to-access information.
Siemens Healthcare was the first company to announce a complete integrated diagnostic imaging solution for PET imaging of amyloid plaques. Its latest solutions follow on from the UK’s recent plans for improved diagnosis rates of dementia in England by 2015*. Figures currently available indicate 35.6 million people worldwide are living with dementia. The World Health Organisation estimates that with an ageing population, the number could reach an estimated 115.4 million by 2050.
Contact for journalists:
Siemens plc
Laura Bennett, phone: 01276 696374
E-mail: laura.bennett@siemens.com
Media Safari
Marc Gossage / Ellie Rymer, phone: 01225 471202
E-mail: marcg@mediasafari.co.uk
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Notes to Editor:
*According to Department of Health press release, UK to use G8 to target global effort on dementia, 15/05/13
The Siemens Healthcare Sector is one of the world's largest suppliers to the healthcare industry and a trendsetter in medical imaging, laboratory diagnostics, medical information technology and hearing aids. Siemens offers its customers products and solutions for the entire range of patient care from a single source – from prevention and early detection to diagnosis, and on to treatment and aftercare. By optimising clinical workflows for the most common diseases, Siemens also makes healthcare faster, better and more cost-effective. Siemens Healthcare employs some 51,000 employees worldwide and operates around the world. For further information please visit: http://www.siemens.co.uk/healthcare.
