Work list management tools are finding their way into PACS offerings, but that hasn't stopped many radiology departments from launching efforts to develop their own solutions, according to studies presented at the RSNA meeting.

Newly developed ultrasound probe technology that acquires data in one sweeping stroke is propelling 3D ultrasound into new realms. Aided by software that reconstructs volumetric information, radiologists can review ultrasound data on workstations the same way they do CT and MR.

Parallel imaging has opened the door to diffusion-weighted imaging of the body. A diffusion-weighted transverse image of a rectal lesion (m-shaped dark area in top image) in an 83-year-old man corresponds to the pathological specimen (bottom image). Abnormal signal near the bladder (black dot upper middle of top image) is an artifact from the intestines.

In the wake of Thanksgiving every year, a city rises within the confines of McCormick Place. It is a kind of radiological Epcot Center, a futuristic vision designed to dazzle; constructed of software, heavy iron, and handhelds; and swathed in platitudes.

Many institutions are developing their own software or modifying commercial products to improve workflow efficiency.

The release of Siemens' Somatom Definition may forever change CT. The scanner, unveiled just days before the RSNA meeting and featured at the Siemens booth on the exhibit floor, combines two 64-slice scanners in one, incorporating two x-ray tubes and two detectors. Together, they generate 128 slices every 330 msec. The new product is distinguished less by number of slices or even the novelty of two imaging chains, however, that by what the technology can do: double temporal resolution and cut acquisition time in half.

Once Dr. Andrew Hines-Peralta resolved the problem of how to percutaneously cook large liver tumors, he undertook a more pressing challenge: remodeling his condo.

PACS has snapped forward after years of languishing, propelling vendors to integrate first RIS, then 3D. But these are only the outward signs of a much deeper transformation.

In 1997, while visiting the University of Washington, I dropped in on the Human Interface Technology Laboratory, known to the locals simply as HITLab. What drew me there was research into a surgical simulator. But what captured my imagination was a project exploring the concept of “virtual space” and an offshoot called “telesavance.”

Philips Medical Solutions has developed a learning program that adjusts the planning, scanning, and processing of MR exams to match the preferences of operators and physicians. The SmartExam promises to decrease overall exam time, while increasing consistency and reliability.

GE Healthcare hopes to open a new branch of clinical application for its PET/CT systems with the commercial launch later this year of its 64-slice Discovery VCT.

With software from Siemens Medical Solutions and a high-speed network connection, experts can advise staff at remote locations how to run their MR scanners. In a pinch, these experts could even take over the examination, inputting patient setup and sequences, as well as making midexam adjustments based on images displayed in real-time.