Toshiba America Medical Systems upgraded its Xario XG and Aplio ultrasound sytems with three transducers, each capable of volumetric scanning. The additions expand the range of these systems, which previously had depended on only one transducer for 4D imaging. The transducers can be applied to transvaginal/obstetric, prostate, small parts including breast, testes, and thyroid, and abdominal scanning.

Professional attendance at the 2007 RSNA meeting saw a 3% increase compared with last year. Society officers credit a large contingent of international attendees for the rising figures.

An overwhelming majority of the audience at an RSNA special focus session Thursday voted in favor of keeping up the efforts to get FDA approval for the use of contrast ultrasound for general radiology applications.

Radiologists must become more alert to the extensive range of health problems faced by patients who swallow fish bones, according to a thought-provoking poster from Spain that was one of eight international exhibits to scoop a prestigious Magna Cum Laude award in the vast RSNA 2007 poster hall on Wednesday afternoon.

A New England Journal of Medicine review article published Thursday targets the cancer risks of CT at the same time that hundreds of scientific presentations and new products at the 2007 RSNA meeting are fueling multislice CT’s continued growth.

Inspired by vertebroplasty's success, Greek researchers have shown that percutaneous cement injections can also successfully stabilize arthritic and neoplastic lesions affecting the femoral head. The technique offers pain relief and an alternative to surgery in selected patients.

Merge Healthcare has become the first U.S. RIS/PACS company to enter the fast-growing teleradiology market, offering a service that gives U.S.-based radiologists consultation interpretations provided by radiologists based in India.

Two new computed radiography systems and a digital radiography unit debut this week at the Caresteam Health booth at the RSNA meeting. The CRs, dubbed the Classic and Elite, are accompanied by IT products already introduced:

Information ttechnology is keeping tabs on referring doctors’ inappropriate study orders and could be useful in automatically tracking imaging follow-up to ensure radiologists’ advice is heeded, according to presentations at an informatics session on Wednesday.

Computer-aided detection figures prominently in the Siemens Medical Systems booth at this year’s RSNA meeting. The company is featuring packages for colon cancer, pulmonary embolism, and lung nodules in several work-in-progress versions.

The latest evolution of GE Healthcare's Signa HD x (high definition x) platform offers MR pulse sequences that overcome barriers to diagnostic scans in some difficult-to-image patients. The xt version, shown at the RSNA meeting, features two major innovations: 3D Cube and Ideal.

The hierarchy of ultrasound systems at Hitachi Medical Systems America has a new flagship. Particularly noteworthy on the HI Vision 900 is an elastographic capability that characterizes pathologies based on ultrasonic measurements of the relative stiffness of tissue.

The S-2000 ultrasound scanner, takes shape this week as a new commercial product at the high end of the Siemens Medical Systems’ ultrasound portfolio. The S-2000, cleared by the FDA in mid-October, does not replace the Sequoia, Siemens’ flagship since it acquired ultrasound pioneer Acuson six years ago. Instead, it complements the system, according to Siemens executives, by combining best-of-breed technologies from Sequoia with Siemens’ ultrasound platforms developed prior to the Acuson acquisition.

A new ultrasound system and an upgrade to an existing product from Esoate address interest in compact ultrasound.

Nearly all lung nodules were segmented successfully with a point-and-click approach from four out of five vendor programs. Even with this approach, however, intraobserver 3D volumetric measurement agreement was close to but not 100% repeatable.

Confirma is showing at the RSNA meeting its breast MR coil enhanced with interventional components. Launched at RSNA 2006 as a purely diagnostic device, the Access Breast Coil is now outfitted with a grid plate and stabilization plate, a configuration cleared in July by the FDA. The four-channel phased-array coil was also modified to improve patient comfort, reduce weight, and increase physician access to the patient. The version slated for the RSNA exhibit floor is certified for use on Siemens Avanto, Espree, and Symphony MR scanners.

Philips Medical Systems is showing this week its next-generation large-bore PET/CT at the RSNA meeting. The new hybrid, appearing as a work-in-progress, combines the Gemini TF (True Flight) PET/CT with time-of-flight technology and the Brilliance wide-bore CT. The PET/CT features an 85-cm diameter for both PET and CT. Included are simulation protocols, respiratory gating, and connectivity for data transfer in radiation oncology.

Customers in the market for 16-slice CT have a new choice with the introduction by Hitachi Medical Systems America of the Eclos CT. The 16-slice scanner is designed for ease of use and low-dose high-quality scanning with optional 3D reconstruction supplied by TeraRecon.

While stress and personality have a well-established relationship with one another, they were also found to have a strong relationship to computer literacy within the radiologist community. Radiologists with lower levels of occupational stress and certain personality types -- high levels of openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness -- were found to be associated with higher levels of computer literacy.

An enhanced version of the z.one convertible ultrasound system, z.one ultra, appeared this week from Zonare Medical Systems. The upgrade automatically adjusts gain and brightness and traces spectral Doppler waveform.