Konica Minolta Healthcare Highlights MSK Ultrasound Education and Solutions at AAP’s Physiatry ‘18 Annual Meeting

Wayne, NJ, February 13, 2017 – Konica Minolta Healthcare Americas, Inc. continues to support ultrasound education for physiatrists in physical medicine and rehabilitation with its sponsorship of the Association of Academic Physiatrists (AAP) annual meeting, Physiatry ’18, being held this week in Atlanta, GA.

“Konica Minolta is committed to supporting ultrasound educational initiatives through the AAP’s annual meeting and inconjunction with leading, expert physiatrists,” says Joan Toth, Sr. Product Marketing Manager, Ultrasound. “Physiatrists are increasingly turning to ultrasound to elevate patient care and improve practice efficiency in the diagnosis and interventional treatment of musculoskeletal (MSK) disorders at the bedside.”

As a Silver Level sponsor of the Physiatry ’18 meeting, Konica Minolta Healthcare is supporting two hands-on MSK ultrasound workshops on Wednesday, February 14: Residents, Fellows, and Medical Students Workshop – Procedures in PM&R and Teaching Musculoskeletal Ultrasound Education: Faculty Development. In both workshops, attendees will have the opportunity to develop and improve ultrasound scanning skills utilizing Konica Minolta’s SONIMAGE® HS1, a compact ultrasound system with advanced MSK functionality for increased diagnostic confidence at the point-of-care.

Educational opportunities in the Konica Minolta booth #405 include 20-minute presentations on ultrasound evaluation of the knee, shoulder, elbow and wrist on Thursday, February 15 and Friday, February 16. Meeting attendees visiting the Konica Minolta booth can also pick up a technology paper on ultrasound in the PM&R specialty detailing how it can help physiatrists deliver better care, faster treatments and increase practice revenue. While physiatrists have historically relied on their understanding of anatomy and physical examination, the use of ultrasound is growing in importance for diagnosis, treatment planning and interventions, such as guided injections in pain management. Ultrasound may also be an excellent adjunct to EMG nerve conduction and help enhance the patient-provider relationship, including assisting with patient education regarding their diagnosis and therapy.

SONIMAGE HS1 delivers superior image quality and needle visualization to support rapid, confident decisions at the point-of-care. A simplified eight button console and intuitive touch screen combine with focused MSK exam presets to minimize the learning curve. Enhanced signal penetration, increased color flow sensitivity and improved resolution deliver detailed tissue differentiation, enabling clinicians to detect structures as small as several hundred microns. In conjunction with beam-steering technology, the SONIMAGE HS1 incorporates an advanced algorithm that utilizes both the in-plane and the out-of-plane methods to improve needle visibility, especially in steep angle approaches. The resulting clarity of the needle enables increased accuracy in needle placement, making the portable system an ideal solution for pain management guided injections.

Also featured at the show is the J5 Ultrasound System which offers touchscreen simplicity and intuitive workflow with focused MSK exams in a compact, portable footprint. It is well suited for evaluations that require needle visualization for ultrasound-guided injections and biopsies, and is optimized for the office environment. A three-second start-up time from standby, touch-enabled MSK specific settings and precise fingertip measurement control help improve workflow.

Konica Minolta will also offer a special MSK Ultrasound System Bundle Pricing to Physiatry ’18 meeting attendees.