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TimTX TrueShapeShape your pulse. Shape your image.

MRI - Technologies, Applications and Life Design - TimTX TrueShape

Shape your pulse. Shape your image.

TimTX TrueShape is Siemens’ architecture for parallel transmit (pTX) technology. With TimTX TrueShape, the RF pulse can be shaped according to the application, providing a whole new degree of freedom. The results are higher image quality and faster scan times.

TimTX TrueShape is designed to break ground for a broad range of new MRI applications. Starting now with ZOOMit, the world’s first zoom function for MRI.

And, now with TimTX Acceleration1 ZOOMit is brought to a new level with up to 20%2 higher SNR for small, selective FOV imaging.

 

Features and Benefits

TimTX TrueShape is Siemens’ architecture for parallel transmit. The aim of TimTX TrueShape is not to overcome hurdles at 3T such as dialectic shadings. For this, Siemens has introduced TrueForm technology as standard with all 3T scanners since 2007. The aim of TimTX TrueShape is to open up new clinical application fields for MRI. Thus, giving you as our customers, the possibility to broaden your clinical scope and serve more patients in a challenging healthcare economy.
 

TimTX TrueShape - The parallel transmit architecture of the future

You can see more detail in less time, broaden your clinical scope, and experience greater diagnostic confidence.

TimTX TrueShape can do more than just overcome 3T hurdles

At 3T, dielectric shadings can occur. This means RF distribution can vary according to different body areas and affect image quality. The solution to this problem is B1 homogenization or B1 shimming. Since 2007, Siemens has been offering an anatomy-specific B1 shimming solution as part of TimTX TrueShape, called TimTX TrueForm. This solution has proven itself more than 800 times. It significantly increases B1 homogeneity and thus image quality without additional scan time or a change in workflow. It is standard with MAGNETOM Spectra, MAGNETOM Verio, MAGNETOM Skyra, and MAGNETOM Prisma.

Markus Lentschig

“TrueForm Design leads to increased homogeneity and image quality for all organs. It has made 3T MR imaging clinical routine.”1
Markus Lentschig,

MR and PET/CT Imaging Center Bremen Mitte, Germany

 

MRI - Technologies - TimTX TrueShape - vs TrueForm

TimTX TrueShape also includes a B1 shimming solution, but results have shown that its benefits lie elsewhere.

Patient-specific B1 shimming can be performed with TimTX TrueShape. For patient-specific shimming a B1 map needs to be calculated for each patient. This takes time and changes the scanning workflow. Several field tests have shown that, in most clinical cases, patient-specific B1 shimming provides the same result as TimTX TrueForm, a faster, anatomy-specific approach. The true clinical applications of parallel transmit technology lie beyond simple mitigation of dialectic effects at 3T.

 

TrueShape-Parallel-Transmit

Fully dynamic parallel transmit with TimTX TrueShape

TimTX TrueShape is the first platform in the MR industry to make full use of the dynamic capabilities of a parallel transmit array system. With TimTX TrueShape you are able to independently shape the RF pulse from multiple independent RF sources, to enable new MRI applications and open the door to new, hitherto unexplored, development and research opportunities.

Our first application based on the TimTX TrueShape platform is ZOOMit. By means of sophisticated “dynamic” RF pulses, you can excite a smaller FOV to image a select region specific to your application or clinical question. Broaden your clinical scope with images with greater anatomical details and higher diagnostic quality obtained in less time.

ZOOMit: First clinical parallel transmit application powered by TimTX TrueShape

Significantly increased image quality in the zoomed area and shorter scanning times.

 

TimTX TrueShape enables ZOOMit

  • Use syngo ZOOMit to highlight regions, organs, or even features of an organ
  • Create an MRI zoom through selective excitation
  • The first TrueShape application for clinical use
MRI - Technologies - TimTX TrueShape - TX Acceleration

And, now with TimTX Acceleration2 ZOOMit is brought to a new level, providing 20%3 higher SNR.

Philipp Riffel Video

“I couldn’t really believe that we are able to excite a smaller field-of-view without getting aliasing artifacts, so I was very impressed! This was great.”1

Philipp Riffel, MD,
University Medical Centre, Mannheim, Germany
 

 

TimTX TrueShape – The parallel transmit platform

Collaboration is the key for innovative MRI technologies and applications. Based on Siemens’ large network of innovation partnerships, ZOOMit is the result of fruitful collaboration backed by the pTX architecture TimTX TrueShape. And this is only the beginning of the capabilities of parallel transmit technology. Let’s explore the limits together.

Prof. John-Dylan Haynes Video

“Parallel transmit holds the promise that we can reduce artifacts in regions of the brain that are very hard to get with standard imaging sequences.”1
Prof. John-Dylan Haynes,
Charité Universitätsmedizin, Center for Advanced Neuroimaging, Berlin, Germany
 

How it works

Conventional MR imaging uses one RF pulse. In higher field strengths (3T) this may lead to shading artifacts. In 2007 Siemens introduced TimTX TrueForm as the B1 shimming solution. TimTX TrueForm uses different amplitudes to reduce shading artifacts and increase image quality.

Now, with TimTX TrueShape, you can shape your pulse freely with two independent RF transmit channels to achieve a whole new degree of freedom in MR imaging.

TimTX TrueShape is designed to bring you:

Higher image quality

  • Less distortions, less blurring
  • Higher B1 homogeneity due to zooming
  • Better fat saturation
  • Less motion and flow artifacts
  • Increased spatial resolution in region of interest


Higher speed

  • Shorter echo trains
  • Shorter scan time due to fewer phase-encoding steps

 

Future security

TimTX TrueShape

 

 

 

 

TimTX TrueShape – Enabling the first of a broad range of applications for clinical use.
 

TimTX True Form

  

 

 


TimTX TrueForm – The solution for B1 shimming.

Conventional transmit

 

 

 

 

Conventional transmit – Shading artifacts in higher field-strengths may occur

1
The product may not be commercially available in all countries. Due to regulatory reasons its future availability cannot be guaranteed. Please contact your local Siemens organization for further details.
2
The product may not be commercially available in all countries. Due to regulatory reasons its future availability cannot be guaranteed. Please contact your local Siemens organization for further details.