Handheld ultrasound requires a leap of faith as much as it does technology. Intuitively, the idea seems brilliant: Shrink an ultrasound scanner so it can be worn on your belt, strapped to your shoulder, or carried by hand into places where ultrasound

Like many film businesses, Agfa is in transition from analog to digital. But unlike some competitors, only a small component of Agfa, about 5%, is oriented toward the general public. The rest is business to business, allowing Agfa strategists to focus on

Delta Medical Systems has signed a long-term agreement to sell and distribute Siemens Medical Systems equipment and services, primarily in the upper Midwest region. Delta, which is based in Pewaukee, WI, will serve as a sales and service multiplier for

Camtronics is planning to take on the likes of GE and Siemens in image and data management for cardiac patients with corporate alliances and new products, including an office-based electronic medical record.This EMR product, obtained through a

E-commerce services provider medibuy.com has extended its offerings to include diagnostic imaging products made by GE Medical Systems. GE will offer its entire line of products through medibuy's

The imaging industry netted 20 product clearances from the FDA last month. Among them were clearances for Marconi Medical Systems to begin marketing its 1.5-tesla Infinion MRI scanner and for IS2 Research to begin selling its Bi90 digital cardiac gamma

The well-known benefits of PACS have been documented: increased radiologist productivity, no lost films, and reduced material and labor costs.While productivity and economic advantages are easily measured, pinpointing the impact of PACS on patient

Medcon Telemedicine Technology has cut a deal to install its TCS Cardiac Image Management and Archiving system at Ingalls Memorial Hospital in Harvey, IL. The system will provide digital image management and archiving for x-ray angiography and

AK Associates, a subsidiary of Prime Medical Services, is hatching plans to mobilize Philips’ new line of Intera MRIs. Phase 1 of the certification process, scheduled for completion by early summer, will focus on mobile MRI trailers for the U.S.

Doublespeak in equipment prices is common. Usually, list price and street price are two different things. As of March 8 GE Medical Systems has restructured its list prices for MRI scanners to bring them more in line with the marketplace in the U.S.,

The gulf between payments for mammography and for MRI is narrowing. As reimbursement for these two converges and the technology advances, MRI may begin to challenge x-ray-based imaging as a primary breast screening modality.“Small MRI devices using

The U.S. PACS market is about to take on a Viennese twist from Tiani Medgraph, an Austrian PACS and workstation company. Although Tiani has exhibited at the RSNA meeting for several years, it is little known outside its core customer base in Austria and

Toshiba has resisted the urge to merge. Unlike other multinational vendors that have gotten caught up in the merger and acquisition frenzy, the Japanese company has chosen to focus on partnerships.None is more obvious than the relationship Toshiba has

The ECR exhibit floor served as the launch pad for a line of C-arm systems from Philips Medical Systems. The line includes the BV Libra, BV Endura, and BV Pulsera. All three have cleared the FDA. Prices range from around 60,000 euros ($55,840 U.S.) for

A touchscreen interface will control the next generation of PACS, if Image Technology Laboratories has its way. The Kingston, NY, company has developed such an interface to control diagnostic monitors in its own PC-based PACS. Spurring development of the

The next generation of PACS may include an arrangement with a bank of diagnostic monitors controlled by a touch screen interface plopped in front -- where keyboard and mouse used to be. A team of radiologists and engineers from Image Technology

Vendors are increasingly emphasizing the development of devices that have proven clinical value. The reason is simple. These are the products that sell the best in a tight economic environment.The upside about developing such practical technology is that

MRI pioneer Leon Kaufman, Ph.D., has taken the helm of AccuImage Diagnostics. Kaufman joined the company as CEO in mid-February, leaving Toshiba amid that company's reorganization (SCAN 1/31/01). Kaufman in 1975 established one of the world's first MRI

Despite the technology and capital invested in the International Space Station, the crew has to contend with some of the same problems as citizens of far-flung areas on earth. Healthcare is limited and sophisticated diagnostic imaging is not available.

Two veterans of the networking business, StorageTek and Siemens, are integrating products and services to support high-performance medical image and data archiving. StorageTek products are appearing as part of Siemens Radiology and Cardiology PACS