(Chelmsford, MA – April 18, 2022) –TIMS Medical announces the shipment of TIMS MVP 4.5, the newest version of its flagship product for recording, editing, reviewing, and archiving medical imaging studies in high resolution video with synced audio, and its inclusion of advanced measurement tools and integration with the DIGEST protocol for dysphagia measurement and scoring.

About DIGEST:
In 2016 a group of researchers (spearheaded by Katherine A. Hutcheson, PhD of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, TX) developed and validated Dynamic Imaging Grade of Swallowing Toxicity (DIGEST), a method to measure and grade the severity of pharyngeal swallowing dysfunction to leverage findings from imaging studies.

The method was developed by an international brain trust of 16 co-authors also including researchers from The Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai, University of Florida, Stanford University, Newcastle University, and the Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust; in collaboration with the National Institutes of Health/National Cancer Institute (US).

Having observed the significant incidence of dysphagia among patients with head and neck cancers, the researchers looked at 100 randomly selected Modified Barium Swallow (MBS) studies conducted over an 8-year period in order to gather data to support and define DIGEST rating of pharyngeal swallowing function.

Their 2017 paper (published in Cancer: https://acsjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/cncr.30283) detailed the imperative for a robust yet streamlined measurement of MBS studies, the most common instrumental procedure for diagnosing swallowing disorders.

DIGEST training is recommended and available at: https://mdanderson.cloud-cme.com/digest

About TIMS MVP 4.5
TIMS MVP 4.5 adds new capabilities for scoring, measurement, and live streaming video to the list of sophisticated tools that thousands of radiologists and speech-language pathologists (SLPs) rely on daily for reviewing, editing, and diagnosing imaging studies of patients with speech and swallowing difficulties.

With TIMS MVP 4.5’s newly refined measurement tools, clinicians can now quickly calculate valuable metrics such as area, distance and velocity. Practical examples include estimating percent residue, hyoid excursion and superior/anterior displacement, bolus velocity, and the timing of swallowing events. Measurements and accompanying telestrations can be labeled and a single-frame snapshot created to include with the study as it is archived to PACS or VNA. These new measurement capabilities with MBS studies aid clinicians in rating patients’ swallowing function using standardized scoring protocols.

“We have developed a solution to streamline the workflow for reviewing, measurement, and scoring of swallowing studies with the DIGEST method, while remaining completely within the TIMS MVP environment,” said Tim Lauzon, Product Marketing Manager at TIMS Medical. “By fully integrating the method into TIMS, SLPs benefit through a new capability to conduct, review, and input grading values within a singular user interface, which in turn results in a huge time savings on a per study basis. Furthermore, we anticipate this integration will lead to increased utilization of scoring standards in both clinical care and research,” said Lauzon.

Availability
TIMS MVP 4.5 is available now.  TIMS MVP customers with version 4.2 and a current Support & Maintenance contract are provided the upgrade to v4.5 free of charge.

About TIMS Medical & Foresight Imaging LLC
TIMS Medical is a division of Foresight Imaging LLC focused on finished medical devices for the recording, editing, archiving, and real-time collaboration on medical imaging studies.  Applications include modified barium swallow studies, FEES, endoscopy, interventional radiology, ultrasound, surgery, DICOM & PACS/VNA connectivity, and much more.  Over 5000 systems are installed in hospitals, imaging centers, and medical schools worldwide.  For further information, visit www.tims.com or email info@tims.com.

Foresight Imaging LLC is a world leader in the design of high accuracy, high performance video streamers, frame grabbers, & medical imaging hardware and software.  Foresight Imaging video acquisition boards are the imaging engines of many finished medical devices and military imaging systems in use throughout the world. The company is certified to the ISO 13485 quality standard.

Foresight Imaging, TIMS Connect, TIMS DICOM, TIMS Medical, TIMS Medical Video Platform, TIMS MVP, and TIMS Review are registered trademarks of Foresight Imaging LLC.  All other products and brand names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders. All specifications are subject to change.

Press Contacts:
Patrick Rafter
Director, Marketing Communications (TIMS Medical)
1 Executive Dr., Suite 202, Chelmsford, MA 01824
T: 617-901-2697
E: pr@tims.com or prafter@tims.com

Tim Lauzon
Product Marketing Manager (TIMS Medical)
T: 978-458-4624 x225
E: tlauzon@tims.com

Tags:
#speechdisorders #dysphagia #slpeeps #MBS #DIGEST #FEES #PACS #medicalimaging #medicalvideo #cancer #oncology #headandneckcancers #cancerresearch#medicaleducation #medschools #TIMS4.5

Footnotes:
#1) Hutcheson KA, Barrow MP, Barringer DA, et al.
Dynamic Imaging Grade of Swallowing Toxicity (DIGEST):
Scale development and validation.
Cancer. 2017;123(1):62-70. doi:10.1002/cncr.30283
Online at https://acsjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/cncr.30283