For the second time in as many weeks, Siemens Medical Solutions announced a new MR system oriented toward customers focused on patient comfort. The 1.5T open-bore Magnetom Espree was already on tour around the U.S. when Siemens unveiled its Magnetom C!,

Rebounding from the slowdown reported earlier this year (SCAN 2/25/04), Vital Images scored record total revenue for the second quarter of $8 million versus $7.5 million in the year-ago period, a 6% increase. In 2Q 2004, Vital Images reported net

Web-based PACS developer Intelerad Medical introduced at AHRA 2004 a range of advanced features for its images-on-demand InteleViewer. The Advanced Layout Manager toolset provides expanded support for complex layout protocols, as well as the ability to

Football has a lot of firsts. The first night game: Nov. 6, 1929; first championship game: Dec. 17, 1933; first Super Bowl: Jan. 15, 1967. In football, as in anything, firsts get harder to find after a while. So those who want to score and keep track of

June put the industry on a record-setting pace for devices cleared by the FDA this year. The watchdog agency cleared 38 radiological technologies, up from 26 in May and two ahead of the red-hot April tally.In the first six months of the year, 159

The ultrasound market is a cacophony of venues and technologies, each striking a different chord, each one in tune with special circumstances and needs. Radiology, echocardiography, and ob/gyn account for the major segments in the U.S., which serves as

Bracco sees extraordinary growth potential in China's contrast media market and is readying itself to take advantage. The Italian company launched its second-generation ultrasound agent Sonovue and its MRI contrast agent Multihance into the Chinese

Catholic Health System (CHS) and Siemens Medical Solutions have agreed to partner up for the next decade. Over that period, Siemens will deliver up to $100 million in equipment and services to CHS, composed of five hospitals, 10 primary-care centers,

Radiologists who toss their expensive clinical workstations in favor of standard desktop PCs can still extract DICOM images from magneto-optic disks, according to researchers at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. Platform-independent,

Mammography has always been held to a higher level of diagnostic quality than garden variety imaging devices. So when full-field digital mammography came to market, the entire system-from the detector to the acquisition workstation and display

An imaging department that can't afford a full-blown PACS doesn't have to go without. Researchers at Reed College in Portland, OR, and the University of Washington developed a free self-contained miniature PACS for radiologists who want a simple method

Self-gated MR imaging may find a place in standard cardiac practice, but possibly not in the form in which it debuted at the 2003 SCMR meeting.

Duke University researchers introduced a new MR approach at the SCMR meeting that produces cine angiograms analogous to cardiac catheterization without radiation or a contrast agent.

Toshiba America Medical Systems announced July 27 a version of its 64-slice CT dedicated to vascular studies. The Aquilion 64 CFX is designed to examine peripheral vessels, identify soft plaque, and measure coronary stenosis. The Aquilion 64 uses the

Advanced image processing features, an expanded DICOM interface, and a newly designed CCD camera system are among the enhancements now available on InfiMed's PlatinumOne Cardiac package. The company has also upgraded its PlatinumOne Combo system with

Philips and Siemens landed supply contracts from Premier Purchasing Partners for their full-line imaging modalities and related services. The three-year agreements, which take effect Sept. 1, could generate $2 billion in sales. Philips and Siemens will

Siemens hopes to jump the gap between open and closed MR systems with the release on July 29 of an ultracompact wide-bore cylindrical scanner. Whether the company lands on its feet will depend on the open-mindedness of its customers.The German giant is

Open MR has confounded reason for a long time. The trouble began in late 1999, when GE unveiled its OpenSpeed, a 0.7T system that the company framed as a high-field system. Its vertical field provided enough oomph to compete with high-field products;

Contrast-enhanced MR is useful for detecting masses in the breast but less adept at determining whether the kinetic cycle of contrast media, if properly interpreted, can be used to characterize tissues. Breast imaging enhancement software developed by

The Axiom Artis U developed by Siemens Medical Solutions is being prepped for entry into the U.S. market. The compact, mobile digital C-arm system, which has cleared the FDA, offers four times more generator power than any commercial mobile C-arm system,