Got PACS? Radiologists at the Boca Raton Community Hospital are finding that a catchy slogan and clever marketing campaign may play just as important a role as technology in a successful PACS implementation.

Extending access to radiology images and reports has always been a challenge. When PACS was first introduced in the early 1990s, it required costly dedicated workstations for viewing images and reports. Even radiology information systems, in use since

An off-the-shelf software tool has been found to significantly ease the often-tedious process of pinpointing irregularities in voluminous PACS audit logs.Many PACS already incorporate extensive auditing capabilities as part of their security model, but

Two new ultrasound systems designed for echocardiography have entered the GE portfolio. The hand-carried Vivid i, billed as the “visual stethoscope of the future,” weighs just 10 pounds. The miniaturized cardiovascular ultrasound product offers many features found on high-end cart-based systems, according to the company. Its portability is suited to use in urgent care areas, including the operating room and critical care, and for mobile imaging services and outpatient clinics.

Although best known as a leader in the development of personal computer and peripheral technology, Hewlett-Packard has been an important player behind the scenes of PACS, providing support technology to the leading companies in this market segment.

Tokyo-based ultrasound manufacturer Aloka introduced a new diagnostic ultrasound system at the World Congress On Ultrasound In Obstetrics And Gynecology held Aug. 31 to Sept. 4 in Stockholm, Sweden. The ProSound Alpha 5(1) is the first member of a new family of products that will feature Aloka’s next-generation digital processing technology.

Visitors to June’s Society of Nuclear Medicine meeting in Philadelphia may have glimpsed the future of SPECT imaging with news of systems from Philips and Siemens that marry multislice CT and SPECT (DI SCAN 6/28/04). But it takes two modalities to build a hybrid, and while GE Healthcare’s own offering still relies on single-slice CT technology, the company is ramping up the metabolic imaging end of its SPECT/CT system.

This year is proving exceptional in terms of imaging technology development. After a record number of FDA clearances were granted in June, another 36 devices were cleared in July.

Radiologists, radiology administrators, and IT managers have long described the transition to digital image management as something that might become widespread in the mid- to long-term future. Yet the transition has occured sooner and is more extensive

So many images, so little time.That conundrum, kindled by the large image data sets multislice CT creates, has spurred radiologists to integrate 3D techniques into their diagnostic routine. Identifying the best workstation for the job can be

The Sonoline Antares from Siemens Medical Solutions is now shipping with real-time display of 3D images. The new capability is being demonstrated to the U.S. medical imaging community this summer as part of the company's 11-city symposium "New Visions in

Alton Memorial Hospital of Alton, IL, has purchased ScImage's Enterprise PACS solution, PICOMEnterprise, to support its enterprise-wide digital imaging initiative.The hospital intends to implement the technology in multiple phases, beginning with

Toshiba Medical is building on core competencies in MR, CT, ultrasound, and x-ray, focusing R&D on the development of sensor technologies while using alliances with other companies to enhance their utility, speed, and power. Clinical applications, not

Siemens Medical Solutions has high hopes for its latest x-ray offering. Company executives expect the new C-arm, called Axiom Artis U, to appeal to experienced and novice practitioners of angiographic applications working in established and emerging

Cardiac MR could get a boost from the commercial release of a software package designed to support the functional analysis of multislice, multiphase images of the heart. The new CAAS MRV (cardiovascular angiography analysis system MR ventricular) imports

Imaging services provider Medical Resources has selected Dynamic Imaging as the PACS provider for centers in its Florida region. The company's Web-driven IntegradWeb PACS will be installed at seven sites throughout the state. The primary reading location

Bringing international standards and a unified interface to its radiology information systems, the University Hospital of Ribeirao Preto of São Paulo has developed a Web-based system to manage and distribute images and diagnostic information.Web

Lending new meaning to the idea of anytime/anywhere, a Hong Kong hospital is using a mobile phone as a client workstation to access digital images by interfacing with PACS and RIS.Although image detail is limited by the phone's resolution and display

Another vendor is ready to enter the market for digital mammography. Siemens Medical Solutions obtained FDA approval Aug. 20 for its Mammomat Novation DR full-field digital mammography system.Siemens is the fourth vendor to offer such a product in the