Steven K. Wagner

Siemens Medical Solutions has introduced its Moblitt XP Digital, a mobile digital x-ray system with a flat-panel detector. The product offers instant image display to enhance both productivity and workflow and a fast archiving capability for speedy processing.

The XP's 43 x 35-cm flat-panel detector provides enhanced viewing. The system can store up to 3000 images also offers a unique touch screen with an intuitive user interface. Because of its mobility, it can be used in nearly any clinical setting or specialty, including pediatrics, orthopedics, and emergency medicine, said Holger Schmidt, president of the special systems division.

The new system promises instant access to image information, resulting in faster visualization and streamlined patient care. Other features include the ability to transmit image data through wireless access or cable to the hospital's information system for archiving and documentation. A DICOM-structured networking function facilitates patient registration, image transmission, and exposure printing. 

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Siemens mobile system enables instant display

Digital mammography's latest vendor, Siemens Medical Solutions, is showing its new Mammomat Novation system on the 2004 RSNA exhibit floor. The product meets all the demands of modern mammography practices, providing digital screening, diagnosis, and stereotactic biopsy capabilities. Since receiving FDA approval in August, Novation has been installed at 10 sites, and the company expects to install another 20 by year-end.

"The marketplace was waiting for this system and this technology, and there's been great acceptance so far," said Erica Rouleau, national sales director for the company's Women's Health Division.

Versatility is a major selling point for Novation. The full-field digital mammography system features a tungsten x-ray tube, which the company claims facilities optimal image quality with 60% dose reduction. The system interfaces with Siemens' new MammoReport Plus, a dedicated mammography reading station, also being shown at the meeting.

Digital mammography’s latest vendor, Siemens Medical Solutions, is showing its new Mammomat Novation system on the 2004 RSNA exhibit floor. The product meets all the demands of modern mammography practices, providing digital screening, diagnosis, and stereotactic biopsy capabilities. Since receiving FDA approval in August, Novation has been installed at 10 sites, and the company expects to install another 20 by year-end.

Siemens joins digital mammography field with Novation

Hologic, which in recent years has made women's health its principal focus, is showing its full-field digital breast tomosynthesis system as a work-in-progress for the second consecutive RSNA meeting. Despite growing interest in this technology, the company expects to present it as a work-in-progress again next year.

"Our guess for commercialization is 2006," said Jack Cumming, chairman and CEO. "We think it has significant potential to redefine digital mammography, and I'm sure our competitors would echo that since they're also working on it."

Last year, Hologic became the first company to bring a full-field digital breast tomosynthesis system to the RSNA meeting. It returns with added clinical experience and a bona fide leadership position in tomosynthesis.

"We want to clearly demonstrate to the clinical community that we're very serious, very dedicated, and that we have made substantial progress," Cumming said. "This year we're showing a slightly different system. We've made some changes and are continuing to make them."

With tomosynthesis, a series of images are acquired and reconstructed for 3D viewing. This technology has the potential to eliminate overlapping tissue that can obscure lesions, and it may provide more complete diagnostic information.

Hologic is also showing its SecureView breast imaging workstation, which was cleared by the FDA in August. SecureView is a dedicated, multimodality workstation for displaying and interpreting screening and diagnostic digital mammograms. It can also accommodate MRI, CT, PET and ultrasound images.

Hologic, which in recent years has made women’s health its principal focus, is showing its full-field digital breast tomosynthesis system as a work-in-progress for the second consecutive RSNA meeting. Despite growing interest in this technology, the company expects to present it as a work-in-progress again next year.

Full-field breast tomosynthesis makes return engagement

Fujifilm Medical Systems has combined its customizable Flex UI digital x-ray software application with the convenience of PDAs to introduce the FCR Pocket ID at the RSNA meeting. With the Pocket ID, patient data can be accessed quickly and verified at the patient's bedside, permitting caregivers to increase efficiency while reducing the potential for medical errors, according to the company.

"By combining Flex UI with the benefits of the remote workflow of handheld PDAs, technologists will have the ability to access patient work lists and identify exposed imaging plates in cassettes from remote locations, such as patient rooms--which is a particular benefit for technologists doing portable exams," said Penny Maier, Fuji's national marketing manager for digital x-ray. "Pocket ID eliminates the need for paper notes or other means to identify the patient and type of exam, making it a valuable tool from both patient safety and technologist efficiency perspectives."

Patient safety is further enhanced when barcoded wristbands are available. Technologists can use the PDA's built-in barcode reader to scan the wristband, which highlights the name on their work list and ensures that they are performing the right exam for the right patient. They can also use ID cassettes at the bedside, confirming accurate identification at the time of the exam.

"The Pocket ID not only provides the potential for reduced medical errors but also reduces the steps required for technologists, easing their workload while providing benefits to patients," said John Strauss, Fuji's director of marketing for imaging systems.

Fujifilm Medical Systems has combined its customizable Flex UI digital x-ray software application with the convenience of PDAs to introduce the FCR Pocket ID at the RSNA meeting. With the Pocket ID, patient data can be accessed quickly and verified at the patient’s bedside, permitting caregivers to increase efficiency while reducing the potential for medical errors, according to the company.

Fuji combines digital x-ray software application with convenience of PDA

Siemens Medical Solutions has introduced at the RSNA meeting a digital enhancement and mobile flat-panel detector for its Axiom Sireskop SD. With the addition of those upgrades, all Siemens AX systems are now available in a digital format.

"We are helping our customers reach their goals of improving workflow and patient throughput, and more important, patient care," said Manfred Fink, vice president of the Siemens angiography and x-ray division.

The Sireskop SD is a universal system designed to streamline fluoroscopy and radiography operations, as well as patient flow, during fluoroscopic and radiographic procedures. It gives medical professionals a single imaging system for procedures ranging from pediatrics to bariatrics.

The enhancement will enable facilities to improve workflow by decreasing the steps required to process images without film or cassettes, Fink said. Additionally, the system provides an integrated workstation that allows technologists to focus more on the patient during postprocessing.

The tableside-controlled system includes comprehensive dose reduction and high-capacity x-ray tubes to provide flexibility for various patient types without sacrificing image quality. The Sireskop SD also has a wide table and high weight limit to accommodate heavier patients. It meets the performance standards common to other Axiom products, such as enhanced workflow and efficiency, optimal image quality, reduced radiation dose, and patient comfort.

Siemens unveils enhancements to Axiom Sireskop SD

Solutions-oriented technologies are securing a place for digital radiography and computed radiography in medical imaging. Customers are becoming more sophisticated about what they need from these products, particularly in terms of workflow, image quality, systems interface, and usability.

"People are looking for some of the digital issues to go away, and we've made a concerted effort to simplify what it means to go digital," said Scott Burkhart, director of Philips Medical Systems radiography and RF business units.

Philips will show its DigitalDiagnost VM at the RSNA meeting. Introduced as a work-in-progress at last year's meeting and launched in North America in June, the VM enables users to acquire a DR system at the rock-bottom price of about $350,000, a third of the typical cost. It offers CR/DR integration using a multipurpose single-detector configuration. Because of this full integration, including a built-in CR reader, the system covers a broad range of applications: Scheduling, verification, and general postprocessing can all be done at a single acquisition workplace. Features include cassette size flexibility, light weight, minimal dead borders, and wireless operation.

GE Healthcare expects to see the DR boom continue as buyers strive to reduce costs and improve productivity. GE will showcase its upgraded Revolution XR/d system and a suite of advanced applications, including RapidScreen Digital computer-aided detection, dual energy subtraction, and tomosynthesis.

The company will also show a new CR scanner, not yet named, with scanning optics that allow CR plates to be scanned and the images previewed more quickly. The scanner enables a variety of device configurations, including centralized high-volume systems, distributed single-plate readers, and cassetteless flat panels.

"DR will continue to make great strides in image quality and productivity," said Renaue Maloverti, manager of global radiography for GE Healthcare. "We expect to show continued improvement in and penetration of DR in the various areas where it's now present."

Siemens Medical Solutions will show the Axiom Aristos FX and Axiom Multix M DR systems. Aristos was launched two years ago and returns this year with new applications in emergency, orthopedics, and pediatric imaging. Fully automated, it handles all routine clinical procedures from thoracic to extremity work, providing high-resolution images that are displayed instantly with DICOM integration. Some advanced applications will be added, such as a visualization technology designed for scoliosis patients and DiamondView optimization software for imaging bone structure, soft tissue, and skin border visibility.

Siemens' Axiom Multix M, introduced last year, is a portable flat-panel detector for general-purpose radiographic applications both on and off the table and in the standing position. Its detector can be quickly and easily inserted into the bucky table or wall stand tray where it is automatically centered, allowing both landscape and portrait format positioning. The tube follows the detector in synchronized motion. Emerging uses include orthopedic, trauma, outpatient centers, and physician offices, according to Linda Gallant, U.S. product manager for radiography systems, Siemens Medical Solutions.

Fujifilm Medical Systems returns to Chicago with the upgraded Flex UI, a CR software interface with which users can define functionality according to departmental protocol. Features include three-step processing and the ability to image in remote areas of a hospital.

The company will also show its Velocity T table, seen last year as a work-in-progress. It features fast line-scan technology that promises near-instantaneous image appearance.

"We're going to try to make it clear that there is a difference; that you can't look at all CR and DR systems as a commodity," said John Strauss, director of marketing for imaging systems. "There are tangible differences that affect the daily operation of the system that buyers need to consider before they jump into digital x-ray."

Orex will introduce the ZR, developed for radiology, orthopedic, chiropractic, mobile x-ray, and military applications. Features of the system, which Orex calls the most mobile offering in its distributed CR radiology line, include a 4.5-hour battery life and Wi-Fi networking capability.

The Medical Systems division of Canon U.S.A. will show its line of DR products, including the CXDI-50G. A large-area portable DR system that can migrate to a patient's bedside, it features a compact design and portable panel that enable immediate imaging and instantaneous network transfer of images.

Canon will showcase the Mobile Access Station. It manages patient and study information and streamlines workflow, including order issuance, patient work list creation, examination, image quality-assurance, data transfer, and x-ray image viewer/storage.

Swissray will introduce at the upcoming meeting the ddRCombi Trauma, which was developed specifically for emergency department applications. The company will also unveil several new clinical applications for CAD technology.

DR and CR manufacturers focus on turnkey solutions

Digital systems will again dominate the mammography offerings of vendors at the RSNA meeting, as GE Healthcare, Hologic, and Fischer Imaging focus attention on their full-field versions. The range of product choices will expand this year, however, with the introduction of the Mammomat Novation by Siemens Medical Solutions.

The system, which was approved by the FDA in August, supports digital screening, diagnostic imaging, and stereotactic biopsy. It features a 25 x 29-cm flat-panel amorphous selenium detector, which accommodates a wide range of breast sizes, and a paddle designed for easier, more comfortable positioning. Novation is bundled with MammoReport Plus, a dedicated mammography workstation that enables high-volume mammogram reading and an optimized workflow.

Siemens has previously shown the system at the RSNA meeting as a work-in-progress. This year's display will go beyond the basic full-field digital detector, acquisition workstation, and reporting workstation, however, to demonstrate how the system integrates with Siemens' syngo user interface and other components, said Don Alvarez, director of women's health.

Siemens will also show its computer-aided detection software in mammography as a work-in-progress. The company acquired Israel-based CADVision Medical Technologies in July.

Although Siemens is entering the market well behind its competitors-GE introduced its FFDM version of the Senographe some four years ago-Alvarez says the company is not at a serious disadvantage. Rather, the delay provided Siemens with the opportunity to evaluate the market and to optimize the Novation accordingly.

"We are closing the circle with a full-force introduction of mammography as part of the larger PACS enterprise," he said.

Fujifilm Medical Systems is also stressing PACS integration. The company's FCR-M computed radiography mammography system is being reviewed as part of the premarket approval process. If approved, the system will give the company a turnkey solution that addresses image acquisition, CAD, and printing.

"We have the acquisition technology, the display technology, and our PACS Synapse, which is approved for display of mammography images," said Andy Vandergrift, national program manager for women's healthcare imaging systems at Fuji.

Fischer Imaging will focus not only on its SenoScan, but on ancillary products made possible by a series of alliances the company has struck over the last few months. These include agreements with Kodak in conjunction with its PACS and archiving offerings, Cedara for workstation software, and InSiteOne for an outsourced digital archive.

As it did last year, Hologic will show its full-field digital breast tomosynthesis system as a work-in-progress. The company hopes to begin marketing the system in mid-2006, pending FDA premarket approval. Hologic will also show its SecureViewDX breast imaging workstation, which was cleared for marketing in August.

"SecureView is intended to be sold with Selenia but has the utility to be used with other modality platforms in addition to ours and to display and manipulate other modalities in addition to x-ray," said president and COO Rob Cascella.

That suite will include the company's iCAD software, which Hologic expects will have received FDA clearance by the time of the RSNA meeting.

GE, the company that pioneered commercial FFDM, will be at the show with its Senographe DS, a full-field digital system capable of screening, diagnosis, stereotaxy, and presurgical localization. The system was shown as a work-in-progress at the 2003 meeting and was cleared for marketing in February. Alongside the Senographe will be the SenoAdvantage workstation, which also was shown as a work-in-progress last year and has since cleared the FDA. It boasts full multimodality capability. These products will complement other digital and film-based systems, some of which were obtained through the company's acquisition of Instrumentarium.

"We address the overall diagnostic management of breast cancer," said Jean Hooks, general manager for global mammography at GE. "We want to make sure our business demonstrates the results of combining GE, Instrumentarium, and Amersham."