Mention the word security to PACS administrators, and their main areas of concern would usually be workstations and servers. What they may be overlooking, however, is the modality equipment connected to the PACS network.With the growing demand to

Huge data sets from the newer MR and CT scanners not only tax radiologists, they overburden a PACS as well. Researchers at Bundang Seoul National University Hospital in Korea have a solution: split the PACS and use smaller postprocessed data sets for

The increasing use of novel imaging techniques, such as multidetector CT, 3D and 4D displays, functional MR, and contrast-enhanced ultrasound, has created storage and data handling problems for PACS. An institution performing 100 MDCT exams a day may

Increased payments could boost equipment salesMost of the attention given the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003, signed into law Dec. 8, has focused on the inclusion of pharmaceuticals. But there

Siemens installed the 10,000th Acuson Sequoia ultrasound system in December. The milestone system was the 13th Sequoia installed at the University of California, San Francisco. Sequoia, introduced in 1996, has been continually upgraded by its developer,

Focus is on usability, safety, image qualitySiemens Medical Solutions has begun marketing the Axiom Artis dTA, which it claims is the first digital ceiling-mounted universal angiography C-arm system equipped with flat-panel

Until only a few years ago, Philips had ignored the open MR marketplace, choosing instead to concentrate on premium performance cylindrical systems. An alliance with and later the purchase of Marconi Medical Systems provided entry for the company into

Soft market may have forced vendors' handA kind of frenetic one-upmanship has gripped the CT industry. Vendors unveiled at the RSNA meeting three new premium scanners, each well beyond the performance range of the current crop and

Slice wars erupted again this year on the exhibit floor of the RSNA meeting, despite protests by vendors as recently as last summer that hostilities were nowhere in sight. The relative calm of the past two years, during which 16-slice scanners held the

European PACS and digital x-ray developer Ferrania Imaging Technologies is restructuring its European operations. Adrian Stevens will lead the European Life Imaging sales and marketing teams in Europe with direct responsibility for the European region,

Although late to relinquish its reliance on film, mammography is beginning to enjoy the fruits of digital technology. Mammography manufacturers are adding automated analytical tools to improve breast cancer detection and enhance workflow. They are also

Digital fluoroscopy need not include flat detectors, a fact demonstrated by continued progress in conventional radiography/fluoroscopy systems. But solid-state detectors took important steps in 2003 toward becoming the engines for driving future high-end

A shared interest in electrophysiology has brought Philips and EP MedSystems together. The two companies announced an alliance Jan. 6 to combine Philips' Allura cardiovascular x-ray system with EP MedSystems' EP-WorkMate, a recording, stimulation, and

PET/CT dominated nuclear medicine offerings, as it has for several years. Citing opinions expressed by academic luminaries, vendors spoke about the prospect of this hybrid technology replacing stand-alone PET. The increased speed and demonstrated ability

Radiologists expect to gain new ground with CTAMultidetector CT now accounts for a substantial majority of CT procedures. The popularity of this technology is expected to grow even more, according to a survey of American Roentgen

Impax ES relies on integration as key to efficiencyAgfa offered its own version of the next generation of PACS during the RSNA meeting, unveiling a work-in-progress solution that company executives predict will take image

Eyeing a digital radiography market that seems to be growing in popularity, manufacturers unveiled a variety of products and works-in-progress during the RSNA meeting. Most were configured to work easily with PACS, providing the foundation for vendors'

New technologies go beyond mammographyInitially, CAD seemed DOA. Most physicians balked at the idea that technology would ever supplant human knowledge, as the pioneers of computer-aided diagnosis seemed intent on doing. Over the

Striking fear into the heart of a radiologist is easy. Just say there will be a system upgrade over the weekend and downtime will be around eight hours. The PACS industry is rife with horror stories of the infamous eight-hour upgrade that lasted days,

Clinical data security has become a vital issue in the wake of the April 2003 HIPAA mandate. This requires healthcare entities to provide privacy and security assurance of data managed by PACS along with other clinical information."Currently, however,